


My Brother's Not Normally a Psychopath, Promise!

by PadawanMaxineKenobi



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: 100 Year Quests (Fairy Tail), Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, BAMF Natsu Dragneel, Caracters not mentioned in tags, Dragneel Family - Freeform, Dysfunctional Family, END Natsu, Everybody Lives, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Issues, His memory was never wiped, Humor, I also kinda changed the timeline, Intelligent Natsu Dragneel, Kinda, Kinda Crack, Natsu Remembers, Natsu and Zeref are way older than 400 years, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, as in, cause that didn't make sense to me, mild romance, references to, so they were born like a millenia ago
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-01-14 12:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18476011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PadawanMaxineKenobi/pseuds/PadawanMaxineKenobi
Summary: Natsu's memory was never wiped- he remembers everything. His parents, dying, becoming END, Tartaros, becoming a dragon slayer with four other children, the Eclipse Gate, and, naturally, his totally-not-evil-no-matter-what-Ice-Bastard-and-Erza-say older brother, Zeref.





	1. x778

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Fairy Tail! Head's up if you didn't read the tags: This is kinda crack, but also not. please Read and Review!

Natsu was physically seven years old the first time he heard it. At least, in this era. He had heard plenty of people bad-mouth his brother prior to going through the Eclipse Gate. But his brother was a pretty big deal then. He was one of the major players of the war. During war, people blamed everyone for their problems, even those trying to save their ungrateful asses. But Natsu _knew_ his brother was avoiding people in this era. So, he was really surprised when he heard the stupid Ice Bastard, Gray, say

“All this pain… It’s all because of _Zeref_!”

Erza nodded and hmmed in agreement.

Natsu unconsciously rubbed his chest over his heart, where his Tartaros Guild Mark lay in Etherious form, and walked over, curious what his brother had done in this era that drew his new guildmates’ attention and fury.

“What’s Zeref’s fault?”

The other children turned towards him and Cana held up a newspaper. Natsu narrowed his eyes and tried to read it. It wasn’t his fault he sucked at reading! When he was little, before he died, there was a completely different alphabet! And when Zeref revived him, he had all the knowledge of _Ethos,_ the language of the Etherious! Igneel had taught him some of this language! Zeref too, before that! It was just hard! The letters didn’t look like what he was used to.

Gray rolled his eyes.

“It says ‘Another Village Annihilated by Zeref Worshippers”. Dumbass.”

“Oi! I’m not an idiot!”

“Ha! Could’ve fooled me.”

“Anyone could fool you, _you’re_ the real dumbass here!”

“Oh yeah? Well-”

“Stop fighting, both of you.” Erza growled. Both boys put down their fists and glared, before Natsu turned to face the rest of the group.

“So what does it mean by ‘Zeref Worshippers’?”

“Wow, you really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

“Mira, please don’t insult Natsu. He’s my friend.” The take-over mage looked at her younger sister with a soft expression before focusing her attention on Natsu.

“You’re lucky my little sister likes you. Brat.”

It was then that Levy spoke up from where she was standing beside Cana.

“Zeref Worshippers are just that: people who worship Zeref as a deity, as they generally believe him to be one. They are typically Dark Guilds and Cults. They covet the Books of Zeref and often have illegal practices, such as human sacrifice, slavery, terrorism, mass murder, torture, arson, Dark Arts, Black Magic, and naturally spells devised by Zeref himself.”

“Okay… So, why is this all Zeref’s fault?”

“ _Because_ Flame Brain, the people hurting everyone are his followers! Or his demons!”

“Well _Zeref_ isn’t doing anything, is he?” Natsu yelled defensively, “It’s all just a bunch of wackos who think he’s a god! Not him! So don’t blame the guy who is stuck with a bunch of people committing atrco-atocre- really bad things and saying it’s to honor him! Pity the poor guy!”

Gray growled, clenched his fists, and tackled Natsu.

“Gah! The fucking hell?! What’s wrong with you, you freaking exhibitionist?!”

Gray sat on top of his chest, raining punches down on the shorter boy. Tears were coming out of the other boy’s eyes, and he was yelling.

“Damn it! Damn you! Damn Zeref! Don’t you know what he’s done?! What his followers have done?! What his _demons_ have done?!”

“Gray, please get off of Natsu. Natsu, child, how about you come up to my office with me?”

Both boys paused and turned to face the master of their guild.

“Fine.” Gray huffed, standing up and wiping the tears off of his face as he stalked off. Natsu stood up and brushed himself off as the rest of the group dissipated.

“Yeah, okay Gramps.”

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu sat on the large, soft red chair in the corner of the Master’s office, while Gramps walked over holding two steaming cups. He offered one to Natsu, which the boy accepted dully. Then Gramps hefted himself up on to a velvet green chair opposite of Natsu.

“So then, Natsu, do you mind telling me what that scuffle downstairs was about? I’m afraid I only caught then end of it.”

“Why am I in trouble? Ice Bastard tackled _me,_ not the other way around!”

Gramps smiled. “No one is in trouble Natsu. Just tell me what happened.”

Natsu swung his feet. They couldn’t quite touch the ground from where he sat. Biting his lip, he looked up.

“I’m not in trouble?”

“No. You’re not.” Natsu let out a breath.

“Okay. Everyone was reading a newspaper about a bunch of assholes who destroyed a town and killed everyone there. Apparently, they were Zeref worshippers.”

“Hmm. Yes, I heard about that.”

“Well, I was really confused about it. Ice Bastard- Gray- was saying that everything was Zeref’s fault. So I asked what was his fault and what the hell ‘Zeref worshippers’ were and everyone was talking about how they were followers of Zeref and they were hurting people, so the pain they were causing was Zeref’s fault. I pointed out that Zeref hadn’t really done anything and that they should feel sorry for the guy cause a bunch of assholes are doing some real bad things and saying it’s for him. Then the Ice Bastard fucking tackled me and started screaming in my face!”

Makarov looked into his mug, appearing rather troubled.

“Natsu, how much do you know about your guildmates lives before they joined Fairy Tail?”

Natsu frowned and thought about it, hard.

“Nothing really. Just that they don’t have parents. I know Mira and Elfman and Lisanna were chased out of their town because Mira has that demon arm that she got from killing the demon that killed their parents, but not anything else. What’s this got to do with anything?”

Makarov sighed and looked at Natsu.

“Natsu, many of your guildmates, particularly Gray and Erza, have been badly hurt as a result of Zeref worshippers and by Demons of the Books of Zeref. I know that you weren’t intending to hurt them, not on this, but to them, the idea of Zeref being innocent is absurd.”

“Oh.” Natsu said, looking down.

“Natsu?”

“Yeah?” the boy replied, looking up.

“Before Igneel took you in… who were you with?” Natsu’s eyes went wide. He had been with Tartaros and Zeref. Prior to dying, he lived with his parents.

“I lived with my mom and dad when I was little. They died though. I don’t really remember them that well. I was little”

“Hmm. And after that? I doubt you could have survived that long on your own, especially if you didn’t have magic.” Makarov pressed.

Natsu frowned and looked at the ground, swinging his feet. What could he say? He lived with the Demons of the Books of Zeref? His guildmates would hate him forever, if they didn’t kick them out.

“You were taken in by Zeref Worshippers, weren’t you?” Makarov asked, looking at the boy with sad eyes, “I thought that might be the case. This hasn’t been the first time you said something rationalizing the actions of Zeref. And some of the scars you have… you claim that they’re not from Igneel, but you never say where you got them. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Natsu stared at Makarov with wide eyes. Technically, he had. Tartaros _definitely_ thought of his brother as their god. Though, he sort of was. He did make them. Still, what could he say?

“Natsu? Don’t lie. I don’t blame you, and we’re not going to kick you out. For all the trouble you cause, you’re a good kid.”

Natsu met Makarovs’ eyes

“Yes.” He mumbled.

“I won’t ask you to talk about it, but if you ever feel the need to, you are welcome to come to me. Now, I’m going to explain this to the others, you stay here for a couple minutes. Don’t destroy anything.” Makarov hopped out of his chair and left the room. Natsu listened to the feet going down the stairs.

“Gray?” He listened as Gramps called to his rival.

“I was just speaking with Natsu. He told me what happened.”

“What? How he provoked me? Said that _Zeref_ of all people was innocent and that we ought to pity him?”

“Natsu was being a jerk.” Erza agreed.

“But he didn’t know about Zeref worshippers or anything! He wasn’t trying to be mean!” Lisanna protested.

“Bullshit!” Gray yelled, “How does he not know about Zeref worshippers?”

“That’s actually what I need to speak to you about. While I was talking with Natsu, something came up. Something that I have suspected for a long time.”

“What, that he’s a massive idiot?”

“No Gray. Prior to being taken in by Igneel, Natsu was cared for by Zeref worshippers. I don’t know the extent to which that care spread, as he does bare scars, but I believe that they may have hazed him to an extent and that despite not having been near them in years, subconsciously he retains their beliefs and ideologies. I don’t believe that he intended to hurt you, any of you. He was truly confused because you were saying something that directly conflicted with what he was raised to believe. Alright?”

“Natsu- Natsu was held by Zeref worshippers?” Lisanna asked. Natsu bit his lip. It wasn’t like that! Tartaros had been his family! He stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony.

“It wasn’t like that! They weren’t holding me prisoner! I left them! I got lost though… They weren’t allowed to go to me… That’s when Igneel took me in! Then he had to leave me too!”

“Natsu…” Erza said softly, “It’s alright. You have us. We won’t allow any Zeref worshippers to take you. Even if they acted nice.” She said, walking up the stairs.

“But they weren’t acting!” Natsu yelled, “They liked me!”

“Maybe.” Erza replied doubtfully, before wrapping her arms around him, “But they hurt you. They probably hurt others too.”

“They didn’t mean to hurt me! We were training!”

Natsu burst into noisy tears at the thought of his second family. The Etherious weren’t bad. They weren’t!

It wasn’t until Gray commented that Natsu was a crybaby that the salmon-haired boy stopped sobbing in order to punch the Ice Bastard in the face.

 

* * *

 

 

But when he got back to his hut that evening, and the cold loneliness took over, Natsu sobbed again for the families he had lost. His parents, who had died centuries ago; Tartaros, his first guild whom he might never see again, Igneel, who  was technically inside of him but whom he wasn’t able to actually be with in person, the four other dragon slayer children who’s memories were wiped so they wouldn’t remember him even if they did meet, and his wonderful older brother, Zeref who had secluded himself in this era and was hiding from a world divided between hating him and worshipping him. And then he cried for himself, who had been left alone with no one who would understand.


	2. The Adventure of this Era Begins!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just the first episode. Some of the dialogue is taken from the English Dub of the anime, heads up. Obviously, I don't own that, or anything else besides the plot. Please Read & Review!

“Do you actually think that we’ll find a fire dragon? I know you want to train, but it’s kinda weird we’d actually find one after all this time.” Happy commented as he and Natsu strolled through the roads of Hargeon. Natsu shrugged.

“I mean, they said a Salamander was here. What else would they mean?”

“I dunno. Just seems kinda fishy. And not in a good way.”

“Hey, if our information’s correct, then there’s one here! Let’s go find them!”

“Aye!”

Suddenly, Natsu heard loud squeals and shrieks of excitement.

“Ah, Salamander!”

“You’re so dreamy Salamander!”

“Salamander, you’re so awesome!”

“EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”

Natsu and Happy shared a look, grinning.

“Oi! Salamander! Salamander!” Natsu and Happy ran toward the direction of the squealing, bursting through the crowd of young women. Natsu looked around.

“Where’s the Salamander?” Natsu asked. The women immediately began to growl. One pointed behind him.

“He’s Salamander! Now you better apologize or we’re going to rip you to shreds!” Natsu turned around to see a purple haired mage. The smell of smoke barely clung to him, much less the scent of fire. There was no way this guy was a Salamander. Heck, he probably wasn’t a dragon at all! The guy was wearing way to much flamboyant clothing. No dragon would saddle themselves with a cape. Natsu blinked. Were these people retarded?

“No he’s not. He’s human.”

The women growled again.

“Get him!” They yelled. Suddenly, purple hair was in front of him, a flirtatious smile on his face.

“Now, now ladies. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. Here, young man, take this.” The man said, handing Natsu a paper with his signature.

“What’m I s’pposed to do with this?” Natsu asked staring at the paper. It wasn’t like he could eat it. It was a piece of paper with this guys weirdly hard to read handwriting. The women growled again.

“Get the loser!” One woman screamed as the rest mobbed Natsu, hitting and kicking him wherever they could.

“Ladies! Ladies, please.” Natsu sighed from his place on the ground as the women backed off. Much more and he would have had to fight back.

“Tonight I am having a soriee aboard my yacht, and you ladies are all invited! I will see you then!” Natsu watched as purple hair rose on a blanket of fire. Huh. So this guy was a fire mage. The girls suddenly squealed, before running off in different groups.

“Who the hell was that guy?”

“I don’t know, but he was a real creep.” Natsu looked up at the sound of the voice. _Anna._

This girl looked like Anna, his old teacher. Her hair cut was different, and she was younger, but this girl looked just like her. Natsu couldn’t help but stare.

‘Wait. Is she… one of Anna’s descendants in this era? I know Anna left her daughter in the past so that the message to open the gate could be passed on, but I didn’t think I’d meet any of Annas’ relatives here. She smells so similar though. Like vanilla and night air and fire and hyacinths.”

“Hey, thanks for the help back there. How about I buy you lunch to thank you for your help?” Natsu grinned, looking at Happy, who grinned right back.

“Awesome, thanks!”

* * *

 

 

Ten minutes later found the trio sitting in a restaurant, Natsu stuffing his face while the girl, (Natsu learned her name was Lucy) talked about magic and guilds. She didn’t act a lot like Anna, despite her appearance. Lucy was a weirdo. She was emotional and was constantly reacting to everything. Her face was easier to read than a picture book. Her eyes sparkled when she talked about being a celestial mage and about his guild, Fairy Tail.

“So you guys were looking for someone, right? Who is it?” Lucy asked.

“Looking for a Salamander!” Natsu replied, pausing his goal to consume as much food as he could.

“Aye! We heard there was one here! But this guy turned out to be a total fake.” Happy agreed. Lucy stared back, confused.

“Yeah, I bet he can’t even breathe fire like a real dragon.” Natsu stated with annoyance. Seriously, what a let down.

“A… Salamander?”

“Aye! A fire dragon! Natsu wants to fight one!”

The blonde stared at him, shocked.

“Why would a fire dragon be in the middle of a crowded port town? Doesn’t seem like somewhere that you would find one.”

“Umm…” Happy and Natsu replied dumbly. When he thought about, it didn’t really make sense at all.

Lucy blinked and stood up, sighing.

“Well, you’re clearly insane. Anyways, I really ought to go. Enjoy the meal.” The girl turned a began to walk out of the restaurant.

“Wait!” Natsu yelled, falling to the ground with Happy beside him.

“Thanks so much for the food!”

Lucy blushed.

“Get up! You’re making a scene. It’s not a big deal. I was just trying to thank you for helping me.” Natsu and Happy got up and smiled at Lucy, who smiled back.

“I still feel like we should do something to thank her. We weren’t even trying to help.” Natsu whispered.

“Aye,” Happy responded, “We owe her.”

“Oh! I know!” Natsu exclaimed, jumping up. He offered her the paper he had gotten from the imposter Salamander.

“No way!” Lucy screamed back throwing her arms over her chest. “Seriously, we’re cool. It was nice talking with you! Bye!” She called over her shoulder as she left. Happy and Natsu shared a bewildered look. What a weirdo.

* * *

 

 

Natsu was sitting on the edge of an outlook with Happy, the night wind blowing through his hair.

“It’s really to bad about the Salamander though.” Happy commented.

“Yeah…” Natsu responded with a sigh. He still couldn’t get that girl out of his head! She was just too much like Anna! But she was an even bigger weirdo.

“EEEEE! I have to get ready for Salamander’s party!” Natsu shot up at the sudden squeal from a young woman.

“Oh my word, me too!”

“”Salamander? As in, _The_ Salamander? From the Fairy Tail guild?”

“Yes!!!!”

“Where is it?”

“His yacht!!!!”

“EEEEEE!!”

Natsu and Happy watched the exchange between the women curiously. Natsu narrowed his eyes. Fairy Tail? That asshole from earlier was no Fairy Tail member. Just what did that wannabe think he was doing, using Natsu’s guild’s name?

“Hey Happy?”

“Aye.” The cat responded solemnly, before grabbing on to the Dragon Slayer.

“Hey Natsu?”

“Yeah Happy? What is it?”

“You know the party is on a boat, right?”

“Oh. Ugh.”

* * *

 

 

 The first thing Natsu heard when he landed on the ship on top of the faker was that Lucy girl’s voice.

“Hey! I know you!” Natsu groaned in response, feeling the effects of motion sickness.

“Ugh…” Lucy groaned.

“You are so lame.”

“Hey, what are you doing here, Lucy?” Happy asked curiously.

“Oh, Happy! This jerk tricked me. He said he was gonna get me into Fairy Tail. Plus- Hold up. Since when do you have wings?” The blonde responded as she stood up.

“I’ll explain that later, okay? Hold on!” Happy exclaimed, grabbing hold of the young woman, who shrieked in response. The imposter Salamander suddenly stood up, aiming his fingers towards the pair as they flew off.

 “Prominence whip!” Faintly, Natsu registered Lucy shrieking again. Had this loser gotten them? His worries proved to be unneeded though as one of the fakers’ goonies commented on how quickly Happy had gotten away. With shaking legs, Natsu stood up.

“Hey, guys.” He called out, trying to stop himself from spilling out the contents of his stomach. Unfortunately, the goonies and the faker didn’t seem to be paying attention.

“Forget about them. Let’s continue on towards Bosco.” The imposter stated. Natsu tried to get the assholes’ attention again.

“Ugh… The Fairy Tail Guild… You’re a member?!” he called out angrily. This guy wasn’t one of his family members. He was an imposter in that sense to, claiming to be part of Natsu’s family. Suddenly, Natsu was thrown to the ships’ floor again as it began to move. Actually, it seemed to be flipping. Weird. He hadn’t heard a storm. He grunted as the ship slid to a stop. Well, they definitely weren’t on the ocean anymore.

 “That hurt. What in the-?” Natsu heard the imposter call out. He felt his blood begin to boil at the sound of that liars’ voice. _Just who did this guy think he was?_ Natsu smirked, rising to his feet steadily. They were on dry ground now. This asshole didn’t stand a chance. This guy called himself a Salamander, huh? Natsu was about to show him what a real Salamander looked like. A real _angry_ one.

“Natsu! Uh…” Natsu registered Lucy’s voice as he climbed up the boat’s wreckage to glare down at the imposter who dared to not only to falsely claim a kinship to the dragons, Natsu’s last family, but also to claim and tarnish the name of his current family.

“So you claim to be a member of the Fairy Tail Guild?” he growled lowly. The imposter stood up, a cocky smile on his face, though his scent betrayed the tinges of fear. What a fool. He was dealing with Natsu now. He was the second son of the Dragneel family of Sin. He was the younger brother of Zeref. He was the leader and most powerful of the Etherious. He was the adopted son of Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons. And he was one of the five Dragon Slayers sent o this era to help defeat Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse. And this guy? This piece of shit was _nobody_ compared to him. The fool stood up and met his eyes anyways.  

“So what’s it to you? Go get him, men.” The little fool called out. The goonies rushed him. Heh. As if these half-trained, foolish, obedient, thugs could hurt him. Not when the faker had pissed him off.

“Let me get a closer look at your face.” Natsu growled, as the thugs leapt towards him. Lucy yelled a warning. Vaguely, he registered Happy explaining that he was a mage too. Well yes, he was, but he was also so much _more._ And this guy was about to learn that. Jumping up, Natsu delivered the first edges of his rage upon the thugs who thought they stood a chance. He didn’t even need magic to defeat them. Practically shaking with fury, he prowled towards the fake and tore off the loose jacket he had been wearing.

“My name is Natsu. I’m a Fairy Tail wizard. And I’ve never seen you before!” He snarled, allowing his Dragon Slayer magic to light his fists ablaze.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! So Natsu is a Fairy Tail Wizard?” Lucy cried out in shock. One of the remaining goonies near the faker seemed to share her surprise, as well as start to understand just who they had pissed off.

“That mark on his arm, this guy’s the real deal, Bora.” The goonie cried out. This faker, _Bora_ apparently, turned to his lackey furiously.

“Don’t call me that, you fool!” he shouted. Suddenly, Happy spoke up in recognition.

“I know him. That’s Bora the Prominence. Rumor has it that he was kicked out of the Titan Nose Wizard Guild a couple of years ago because of bad behavior.” Huh. From the looks of this guy, Natsu couldn’t say he was surprised.

“I have no idea what you’re trying to do here, asshole, and I don’t care if you’re a good guy, bad guy, or what. I’m not going to let you dirty the Fairy Tail Guild’s name, or that of the dragons!” he roared. The guy didn’t seem to be getting it, unfortunately. Not that it mattered. Natsu was about to teach this guy a lesson.

“And what are you going to do about it? Stop me? Prominence Typhoon!” He shouted. Lucy, that weirdo, cried out worriedly.

“Natsu!” He smiled as the flames engulfed him. Drawing them in, he began to feed.

“That’s the way it goes. The bigger the talk, the weaker the man.” Bora called out. Natsu wrinkled his nose as he began to finish eating.

“Agh. This is so gross. Are you sure that you’re really a fire wizard? Because these are the nastiest flames I’ve ever tasted.” He called back. Seriously, these were disgusting. He would almost pity the guys’ inability to make a decent flame if he wasn’t such an asshole. He grinned as he heard everyone shriek. Then he sighed, finally finished.

“Ah. Thanks for the grub, poser.”

“What’s going on here? Who is this kid?” A goon called out.

“Fire magic doesn’t work on Natsu.” Happy called out. No, no it didn’t.

“I’ve never seen anything like that.” Lucy commented. Natsu grinned and put his hands to his mouth.

“Now I’ve got a fire in my belly that’s raging to get out. Here it goes. Fire Dragon Roar!” Bora and his men squealed in terror.

“Hey Bora, I swear I’ve seen this guy before. The pink hair and the scaly-lookin’ scarf. There’s no doubt about it. He’s got to be the real one.” Another goon called out to his wimp of a leader.

“Salamander?!” Lucy gasped. He really wasn’t though. He was a Fire Dragon _Slayer._ Among other things, of course.

“I hope you guys are payin’ attention. This is what a Fairy Tail wizard can do. Here I come!” He growled, leaping towards Bora, his entire arms now engulfed in flames as he flapped them as though they were wings. Of course, it was much less efficent than just using his wings, but he knew better than to do that in front of people.  

“Red Shower!” Bora shouted, shotting another fire-based spell towards him. Seriously, what an idiot. Still, Natsu swallowed the disgusting flames.

“Hell Prominence!” Bora shouted again, attempting another spell. Naturally, it was useless against Natsu. With an internal sigh, he swallowed the oddly-colored flames. Ew. Well, A for Effort anyways.

“Now that was a hefty meal. You’re not doing too bad. But I’m about to cook you like a smoked fish.” He called out.

“You’re going to do what to me?!” Bora shrieked in terror and confusion. Natsu crouched low, preparing his next attack.

“Get ready. Fire Dragon Iron Fist!” Natsu shouted, throwing a punch directly into Bora’s gut. The purple-haired mage screamed, before collapsing on the ground.

“Don’t be silly, Natsu. Everybody knows you smoke food with smoke, not fire.” Happy called out in fond exasperation. Natsu chuckled at his friends’ comment. He wasn’t wrong after all.

“Oh wow. That was amazing. But he overdid it!” Lucy exclaimed, surveying the damage. Natsu glanced around. Eh. It didn’t seem much worse than usual.

“Aye!” Happy agreed.

“Oh shut it, cat. Wait. Is that the army?!” Lucy shrieked. Natsu looked over his shoulder, Huh. It was. Wait. The army?! Erza was going to kill him!

“Oh shit, we gotta get out of here!” He yelled, grabbing on to Lucy’s wrist.

“Where the hell are you taking me?!” She screamed as he dragged her away from the army at a full sprint.

“Just come on! You said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail Guild, didn’tcha? So let’s go!” He called back, meeting her eyes before quickly glancing at the Celestial Keys on her waist. He grinned at her shocked visage.

“Alright!” She exclaimed, her feet hitting the pavement as she followed after him excitedly. Yeah. This weirdo would fit right in with his family.

 


	3. Brother's Lullaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting the Lullaby Arc!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! I updated! It's a miracle! Enjoy! Please Review!  
> Disclaimer: Portions of the dialogue are taken from the English Dub.

Natsu smiled happily, nuzzling into the warm blankets. He loved the comforting feeling of waking up in the late morning next to those you loved. He had always hated sleeping alone. Zeref and Igneel had made room for him to sleep near them for as long as he had lived with them. He had often napped near the Etherious as well. They all thought it was sweet.

Lucy, the weirdo, did not. That became clear once more by the harsh tugging on his scarf. He grunted and opened his eyes blearily as he hit the floor with a thud. Happy rolled off the bed on to him, landing with a solid thump. Natsu squinted up at Lucy, who glared back with her hands firmly on her hips.

“Why are you in my apartment _again_?”  she hissed, familiar brown eyes flashing with annoyance and the slightest hints of anger. Natsu sat up, stretching with a yawn. He blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“Mornin’ Luce!” he greeted, flashing her the famous Dragneel smile. She groaned.

“Natsu. Get. Out. Now!”

“Aw, c’mon Luce,” He pleaded, “Can’t we have breakfast first?”

“Yeah Lucy. It’s really rude to force someone out of your house without feeding them first.” Happy agreed with a yawn.

She growled and clenched her fists, her forehead ticking.

“Lucy Kick!” She screamed, swinging her leg around in a terrifying kick, which sent both him and Happy flying out the window and across Magnolia. They landed in the forest with a thud that shook the ground.

“Wow. Lucy is creepily strong sometimes, but when we’re in battle she’s completely useless!” Happy exclaimed.

“Luce isn’t useless!” Natsu protested, defending the blonde as he thought over the missions they had done since the celestial mage had joined the guild. Like that one with the crazy Duke and that book Luce had freaked out over! Or when he had gone to rescue Macao! Granted, that wasn’t very hard and he had done most the work, but still! She was new!

“If you say so Natsu.” Happy said with a shrug as he flew up.

Natsu grinned. He did! Suddenly, his stomach began to grumble.

“I guess we should head to the guild for breakfast, huh Happy?”

“Aye Sir!”

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu groaned, his head on the table in boredom.

“I guess we should probably try and find another job.”

“Aye!” Happy exclaimed, looking up from his fish “We’re running out of food money!”

“If we had taken that two million jewel reward, we’d be sitting pretty.” Lucy sighed, “But I can’t let myself forget that rent’s going to be due next week. I guess I better find work too.”

Natsu turned his head to watch the blonde celestial mage walk up to the job board.

“Finding a magic bracelet, breaking a spell on a cursed cane, reading someone’s love horoscope, hunting a volcano demon! Jeez, I had no idea wizarding jobs were so varied.” She read. Mira walked over.

“Well, let me know if you find one you’re interested in taking on. The Master’s away at a conference so I’m covering for him!”

“What kind of conference?” Lucy asked curiously.

“One for guild masters!” Mira responded cheerfully, “Every once in a while, they all get together to talk about the state of things. It’s like the Magic Council, but not.”

Mira then turned towards Reedus.

“Excuse me Reedus, but may I borrow a light pen?”

“Oui.” The painter responded with a smile, pulling one out of his pocket and tossing it to Mira.

Natsu groaned and pressed his face into the table as Mira began to explain the way guilds and the Magic Council worked to Lucy. Who cared? They were all a bunch of stuck-up blowhards as far as he was concerned. When he and Zeref had been kids, magic had been completely unregulated and it was great! On top of that, the system was only a few centuries old! Natsu yawned and tuned back in to what the two girls were saying.

“-the guilds were interconnected like that.”

“It’s important that we co-operate with each other, otherwise the entire system would fall apart!”

Natsu snuck up behind Lucy and lit his fists on fire.

“And then the guys in black would show up!” He cackled. Lucy squealed and jumped, causing him to laugh. She glared.

“Are you trying to scare me to death or something?” She complained.

“But seriously, the guys Natsu’s talking about exist.” Mira said, watching him with a carefully constructed expression that everyone wore around him when bringing up dark guilds or Zeref or anything.

“They’re the Dark Guilds. They’ve chosen not to join any of the leagues. They’re the bad apples, and most of them are involved in magical… crime.” Mira said, glancing at him again. He grinned back.

“Would you just go and pick us a job already.” He asked Lucy, feeling tired of the looks Mira kept sending him.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Lucy responded with a glare (so much like Anna’s) hands on her hips, “What makes you think I’d want to do that?”

Natsu grinned. Hadn’t she figured it out yet?

“Well, we are a team now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah!” Happy suddenly exclaimed, “and we picked the job last time! It’s your turn to pick, so get to it!”

Lucy crossed her arms and looked away.

“Just forget it, Cat! As far as I’m concerned, our team has been disbanded. And besides, you guys didn’t actually want me, you just needed me last time, you just needed me because I’m a blonde!”

Natsu huffed. Was she serious?

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not the only reason we chose you. We picked you cause you’re so nice!”

She was, probably one of the nicest if not the nicest girl in all of Fairy Tail.

“Hey Lucy, I wouldn’t stay with those losers if I were you.” Gray, the ice bastard called, “You’ll get plenty of offers from other teams.”

Cana set down her mug.

“Your clothes, Gray.”

The stripper gasped as though he was surprised to find himself practically naked, again. Creep.

“Jerk!” He called. Gray glared at him and got into his face. He was looking for a fight, huh? Natsu was more than happy to oblige.

“Did you just call me a jerk, Dragon Boy?”

“And what if I did? What are you going ta do about it?”

“You mouth breather!” Gray yelled.

“At least I’m not a coward!” Natsu responded.

“Spineless wimp!”

“Icey Bastard!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

They locked arms, growling. Natsu loved the feeling of a good fight. Suddenly, Gray kicked him square in the chest and sent him flying- right into Lucy.

“Would the two of you just knock it off already?” She groaned from beneath him.

“Natsu started it, I’m just following through.” Gray said with a smirk. Asshole.

“Where are your clothes?” Cana asked again, clearly bored of Gray’s attempt to act cool. Natsu didn’t blame her, it was gross. Gray shouted in surprise as he looked down and realized he was still only wearing his underwear. Idiot.

Natsu growled and stood up.

“Well, you’re the one who was provoking me, you dirty slimeball.” He said in response to the naked pervert’s earlier comment.

“Oh yeah?” Gray responded, “And what exactly did I do to provoke you, you fire clown?”

“You pervy flasher!”

“You flaming punk!”

“You frozen jerk!”

“You think that’s what I am?”

“Pretty much!”

Suddenly, the guild doors slammed open and Loke ran in. When had he left?

“Got bad news!” He yelled. “It’s Erza. She’s on her way here.”

Natsu joined in the screaming. He may be a demon, but Erza was terrifying. Like, Kyouka-level of terrifying.

Natsu whimpered as he heard the sound of her armor clanking and hard footsteps.

“Jeez, from these kind of reactions you’d think she was a demon or something.” He heard Lucy mutter in her happy ignorance. No, he knew demons. Erza was worse.

Erza strode through the door, carrying a giant horn that she must have gotten on her job. She set it down with a great thud.

“I have returned. “ She announced, “Where is Master Makarov?”

“What’s the matter Erza? The Master’s at the conference right now.” Mira responded, being the only one brave enough to.

“I see.” Erza nodded in understanding.

“So- uh- what’s that humongous thing you’ve got there?” Max asked warily, eyeing the horn.

“It’s the horn of a monster I defeated. The locals were so thankful they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?” Erza questioned, tone growing angry.

“No! Not at all!” Max squealed.

Erza turned to observe the rest of the guild.

“Now listen up! While I was out, I heard a few things. Word is, Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov may not care, but I most certainly do.” She then began to scold individual members, “Cana! You need to start controlling your drinking. Vijateer! Please take the dancing outside. Walkaba, get rid of that filthy habit. Nab, I suspected I would find you dawdling in front of the Request Board. Just pick a job! Macao…”

“Please just say something!” The fire wizard squealed in terror. Erza sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I don’t even know where to begin with you. You’ve caused so much trouble, I’ve almost given up.”

Erza sighed and straightened up, not that she really had been all that slouched thanks to her armor. Natsu tightened his grip on Gray. If she had nearly given up on _Macao_ , what did that mean for the two of them?

“Are Natsu and Gray here?”

“Oh, hey there Erza. We’re just… hanging out, like good friends tend to do!” Gray stuttered.

“Aye!” Natsu exclaimed nervously.

“That’s great. I’m quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well. However, it’s only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every now and again.” She said with a smirk Natsu had long known to mean ‘I Know You’ve Done Something You Shouldn’t Have But I’ll Let You Get Away With It For Now’. Zeref had worn it a lot whenever Natsu and Jackal had played a prank on Franmalth or Ezel. Natsu was pretty sure it was an older sibling thing. Gray had never recognized it, and as such was currently still terrified, not realizing that Erza was letting it slide so long as they didn’t bring attention to the fact that she knew.

“I-I wouldn’t say we’re the best of friends.” The Ice Bastard whimpered.

“Natsu, Gray, I need you to do me a favor.”

Gray loosened up at that admission allowing Natsu to untangle himself from him without looking suspicious. Erza began to explain.

“While traveling, I overheard something that has me worried. Normally, I would consult with the Master before acting but he’s not here and this is a matter of utmost urgency. The two of you are the strongest wizards here. I could really use your help.”

Natsu glanced at Gray in shock. Erza never asked for help. Never. Even when she likely should. Not only that, but he was supposed to be on the same team as _Gray_?

Erza took their silence as agreement, not that they would’ve said no. This was clearly a big deal.

“We’ll meet at the train station tomorrow morning.”

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu woke up feeling ill and listening to some random weirdo ask about how well he liked being in a guild.

“Wha?” He muttered.

Then he got a foot to the face.

“Don’t act all high and mighty just cause you’re in a legal guild, Mr. Fairy. You guys who just blindly follow the Magic Council. You know what you look like to us? Harmless little flies.”

Natsu glared at the owner of the foot. Just who the hell did this guy think he was? Natsu’s older brother? One of the other five dragon slayers?

Natsu lit up his fists, causing the asshole to jump backwards with a smirk.

“Guess I hit a nerve.” He taunted.

“You-”

Suddenly, the train lurched forward, causing Natsu to power down and close his mouth to avoid puking.

“What kind of magic is that?” Weirdo asked, “Let me show you how it’s done!”

Some- _things_ shot out of the floor and hit Natsu right in the jaw, sending him sprawling across the floor.

“It’s all just a follow through.”

“That magic…” Natsu gasped. He had seen it before- just a couple of days ago.

The train skid to a stop, sending the other mage of his feet.

“The train stopped.” Natsu commented as he got to his knees. Then he noticed something almost… familiar? Laying on the floor.

“What is that?” He questioned, staring at the wooden object.

“You saw it…” The weirdo gasped as he got to his feet. Natsu looked up. Oh right. This asshole was still here.

“Alright.” He exclaimed, pounding his fist into his palm to summon his magic, “It’s payback time.”

He reared back his fist, jumped up, and punched the guy square in the face with a fist full of fire.

The guy coughed from his new place on the floor.

“Lucky shot.” He muttered. Natsu glared.

“Little fly, huh?” This guy really had no idea who he was messing with. What was with all these dumbasses Natsu kept running into? There was the fake Salamander, the Vulcans, the weirdos in that one guys’ mansion, Gray, and now this guy!

Then an announcement started from the train speakers.

“Attention all passengers. Our emergency stop was a false alarm. We will be departing again shortly.”

“Oh crap.” Natsu said, lowering his fists and grabbing his luggage, “I gotta go!”

“Hold it right there!” The weirdo exclaimed, “I’m not letting you get away that easily. You’re messing with Eisenwald now!”

“Oh so you’re with Eisenwald, huh? I’ll show you what happens to people who knock Fairy Tail! How about we take this outside?” Natsu responded with a glare. What was with all these random assholes?

Then the train began to move- _again_. Natsu instinctively covered his mouth. He had to get out of here. He glanced at the window to his left. Well, it would have to do. He tensed for a moment, then jumped through the glass, the wind from the train sending him flying the opposite direction as it.

“Natsu!”

He glanced up to see Gray, Lucy, and Erza on a magic mobile- barreling straight towards him. Naturally, he screamed- especially as Gray began to also scream and Natsu crashed right into him.

He whimpered as he hit the hard ground.

“Natsu! Are you alright?”

He vaguely registered Erza’s voice.

“Fine…” He whimpered, and began to sit up.

“That _hurt,_ you idiot!” Gray yelled, as he too stood up. Natsu rubbed the back of his head where he could feel a bump.

“Shut up, you icy freak! How come you guys left me on the train?” Natsu growled, annoyed that he of all people was not only left behind, but left behind on a train.

“I’m just thankful you weren’t badly injured. I apologize, Natsu.” Erza sighed gratefully, before slamming his already-pounding head against her breastplate.

“It’s okay!” He exclaimed, stepping away as far as possible, “I’m shaken up pretty bad though. I got attacked by a weirdo on the train.”

“Are you serious?” Lucy asked with concern. Natsu looked away and crossed his arms so he wouldn’t have to see her while she was acting so much like Anna… that tone…

He bit his bottom lip, bringing himself back to the present.

“I think it’s the dude who dragged away the guys who were going to eat Happy. He said he was with Eisenwald.”

Natsu squealed when Erza’s fist suddenly made contact with the side of his face.

“You fool!” she bellowed, “That is exactly who we’re chasing on this mission! Why did you let him get away?”

It… was? When had she said that?

“What the? This is the first I’ve heard about it!” He protested, rubbing his now very sore cheek with his palm.

“I explained everything on the train! You should listen when people talk to you!”

He looked up at her.

“But you knocked me out!”

“You were ill!”

“But I can’t listen when I’m unconscious!”

Erza frowned and looked down.

“I- I suppose that’s true. Very well, I will let it slide this time.”

She then whirled around and hooked herself back into the magic mobile.

“So he was on the same train that we were on…” She murmured, “Let’s find him.”

Gray, the ice bastard, walked over as Natsu stood up.

“Well what was this guy like?” He asked in a low tone that Natsu knew meant he was being serious. Natsu frowned and looked up, thinking back.

“Well, he didn’t look like somebody from a dark guild, but he did have this strange flute thing. It looked like a skull, except it had three eyes!”

“The three-eyed skull?” Lucy asked worriedly.

“That’s creepy.” Gray commented.

“Is there something wrong Lucy?” Happy asked. Natsu turned to look at the Celestial Mage, who had gone very, very pale. Lucy brought a hand to her chest.

“It’s just… I’ve heard about that flute before. Lullaby… the cursed song… It’s Death Magic!” She exclaimed.

“What?” Erza gasped in shock.

“The cursed song?” Gray questioned, “Like an incantation?”

Natsu, however, was struck with the sudden realization of where he had seen that flute before…

 

* * *

 

 

_“Natsu? What are you doing in here?”_

_Natsu looked up at his older brother, from where he was crouched under the Black Wizards’ desk._

_“I’m hiding!” He exclaimed joyfully._

_“Oh?” Zeref inquired. Natsu nodded happily._

_“Uh-huh. The other Etherious agreed to play hide and go seek with me!”_

_Zeref chuckled and kneeled down all the way so that he too was under the desk._

_“I see. So you decided to come in here?”_

_Natsu giggled._

_“Yeah! Mard Geer never goes in your office!”_

_Zeref laughed again._

_“No, most of the Etherious don’t.”_

_Natsu frowned and crawled towards his older brother, curling up next to him._

_“Why not?”_

_Zeref wrapped an arm around Natsu._

_“Because this is where I make Etherious- among other things. They find it disturbing I suppose.”_

_Natsu frowned and looked down at his hands._

_“Oh.”_

_Then a thought struck and he looked back up._

_“Is this where you brought me back then?”_

_Zeref ruffled his hair, a sad expression on his face._

_“No… No, I doubt you remember, but after you died I kept you in a lacrima in the cellar of the storehouse- where we always used to play. I brought you back there.”_

_“I remember the storehouse. And the cellar. We used to sneak canned fruits and Mama would scold us. I don’t remember being brought back though.”_

_“I’m not surprised. You were very tired- you fell asleep almost as soon as I brought you back.”_

_Natsu bit his lip._

_“Sorry.” He murmured. Zeref looked surprised._

_“What for?”_

_Natsu looked back up._

_“I know you must have been worried when I fell asleep so quickly, so… sorry.”_

_Zeref’s expression became soft._

_“Oh, Natsu… Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault- none of it was.”_

_“I still made you worry though, so… here.”_

_Natsu leaned over and kissed his brother on the cheek. Zeref’s eyes filled with tears, causing Natsu to panic._

_“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you sad!”_

_Zeref laughed and wiped his eyes._

_“You didn’t. I just… I cry more now. That’s all.”_

_Natsu grinned and nodded._

_“Uh-huh. All the time.” He teased. Zeref gasped in mock offense._

_“Natsu! Are you calling your loving older brother a crybaby?”_

_Natsu giggled and nodded._

_“Uh-huh.”_

_“Why- you ought to be punished.”_

_“Punished?” Natsu questioned. Zeref nodded in faux seriousness._

_“Yes. Your punishment is… tickling!”_

_“No! No!” Natsu cried between laughs as his brother tickled him without mercy. Zeref grinned and leaned over him._

_“Mwahahahaha!”_

_It ended when Zeref tried to sit up and bumped his head on the top of his desk- hard._

_“Ouch!” He exclaimed, placing a hand over the injured area while something rolled off the desk and hit the ground._

_“Are you alright Zeref?”_

_Zeref smiled and nodded._

_“Yes, in a minute or so I’ll be completely recovered. Likely one of the few good things about my curse.”_

_“Oh. What’s that?” Natsu asked, pointing at the object that had fallen off the desk. Zeref glanced over and picked it up._

_“This? This was one of the first demons I made.”_

_Natsu stared at the flute and poked it._

_“That’s an Etherious?”_

_Zeref laughed and shook his head._

_“No, it’s not an Etherious. Etherious are my books. This demon I named Lullaby. Originally, it was just a cursed flute that would send any who heard it’s song into an eternal slumber, but-”_

_“What’s an ‘eternal slumber’?” Natsu questioned. Zeref smiled._

_“It means they would sleep forever.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Yes. Well, I thought I could improve it so that it could fulfill my wish and made it into a demon, so that any who hear the song would die. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.”_

_Natsu frowned and poked it again._

_“So it’s not a demon?”_

_Zeref laughed._

_“No, it’s a demon. If it was played like this, all natural, mortal creatures who heard the song would die. It can also turn into another form- like that of a giant, and it can sing like that too. No, I meant that it didn’t fulfill my wish.”_

_Natsu looked down at his hands, upset._

_“Your wish to die?” He murmured. Zeref smiled sadly._

_“Yes. My wish to die.”_

_“I wish you wanted to live.” Natsu muttered, burrowing into his brothers’ side._

_“I know, Natsu. I know.”_

 

* * *

 

“Natsu? Are you alright?” Natsu looked down at Happy.

“Yeah, I’m okay Buddy.”

“What is it?” Gray asked.

Natsu bit his lip, then sighed.

“I know what Lullaby is. From… before.” He said, wary to speak about anything relating to his brother in front of his current guildmates.

“You know about it?” Erza asked cautiously. Natsu nodded.

“Yeah and- it’s bad. Real bad. Lullaby isn’t just a flute. Any who hear it’s song will die. Not only that, it’s-” Natsu stopped. He knew what his guildmates thought of his brother. This would only make it worse. But not telling them could endanger their lives.

“What is it, Natsu?” Gray asked gently. Natsu let out a breath.

“Lullaby’s true form is a demon. A creation of Zeref’s.”

Everyone had gone pale.

“We need to go. Now.” Erza said. Gray nodded.

“Right.”

“Wait, how did Natsu know all of that?” Lucy asked Natsu looked at Erza and Gray helplessly.

“I’ll tell you on the way.” Gray said eventually, “Now get in, we need to _go._ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Review!


	4. I'm Not a Monster. I'm Much Worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yesterday after classes I opened my email and had so many nice comments on this fic that I just started sobbing and got to working on the next chapter so here it is! Lullaby Arc should finish in the following chapter. It's already started, so I hope to get that done this weekend but we'll see. Please enjoy & review! I love you all!

Natsu woke up the second time that day to the same unpleasantly familiar voice.

“Hey you. It’s your fault I got in trouble with Erigor. Get up.”

He groaned. Some asshole was monologuing. For some reason, Erza, Lucy and Gray were encouraging him. Then that unfortunately familiar voice was back.

“We’re rolling in a new age of darkness! Of course, by the time it gets here, you flies will be long gone!”

That pissed him off. This asshole didn’t even know what an ‘age of darkness’ looked like. Natsu did. He had lived them. This fucking asshole didn’t realize how lucky he was to live in the era he did.

Natsu got up just to see the entitled assholes’ magic heading straight for Lucy. Without a second thought, Natsu jumped up and punched the shadowy fists away.

“You again.” The asshole hissed.

“Eisenwald dude.” Natsu hissed back, “I knew I recognized that voice.”

“You’re back to normal!” Lucy cried happily. Natsu looked over their enemies. Was this the entire Eisenwald Guild?

“Oh. Wow. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a party here, huh.” He commented.

“Uh- no- Natsu, these are the guys we have to fight!” Lucy exclaimed. Natsu laughed internally. She clearly had not been in the guild long enough. He punched his fist into his palm.

“Like I said. It’s a party.”

“This is the strongest team Fairy Tail has to offer. You’d better be ready!” Lucy exclaimed, pointing at a shirtless guy with a ridiculous looking scythe. Said guy began to fly up. Wind Magic?

“I leave them to you. Show them the terror of the dark guild Eisenwald!” Scythe-guy exclaimed dramatically, before suddenly vanishing.

“He disappeared!” Lucy and Happy both cried out.

“Natsu and Gray. Both of you go. I need you to stop him.” Erza ordered, “If the two of you work together, not even Erigor the Reaper can defeat you. I’m leaving him in your hands.”

Natsu glared at Gray. Like he needed that fucking strippers’ help to defeat one measly Dark Mage. Sure, he couldn’t use his Etherious form without likely losing all of his Fairy Tail family, but he could defeat that guy without it. Probably. He’d have to see how strong he was.

The Exhibitionist glared back at him. Natsu growled instinctively, causing Erza to whirl around to yell at them.

“What did I just say?!”

“Right!” They squealed in unison. Jeez. Erza was terrifying. Natsu quietly planned in his head to make sure she never met Kyoka. And that Mira never met Seilah. He would never survive. Hell, the world probably wouldn’t survive! Except his brother, obviously.

“I can’t believe she’s making us work together.” Gray grumbled beside him, “What was she thinking?”

“Obviously she wasn’t thinking.” Natsu snarked back at Gray, gods the stripper was an idiot. Did Natsu need to point this out? “Everybody knows that fire and ice don’t mix.”

“Yeah, why does she always have to be so freakin bossy?” Gray asked. For once, he wasn’t wrong.

“She should ask us to do stuff instead of ordering us around!” Natsu agreed. No one in Tartaros had ordered him to do anything. Technically. Mard Geer, Kyoka, and Seilah all did this thing that was like ‘I know I’m asking but I’m really telling’ which was super annoying. And Zeref had ordered him around, but Zeref wasn’t a member of Tartaros and he was Natsu’s big brother who literally brought him back to life, so he didn’t really count. He was rarely bossy anyways.

Natsu stopped running and turned to Gray.

“I don’t need your help I can defeat Erigor by myself!” The stripper yelled at the same time as Natsu. Natsu growled and headbutt Gray.

“Are you copying me?” They shouted together. Seriously. What was with this guy? Out of the corner of his eye, Natsu noticed that the corridor they had been running through suddenly split. Apparently the Ice Freak noticed too, because he suddenly backed off.

“Which way do we go?” Natsu asked, reading the signs slowly. To the left, Old Line, and to the right, New Line.

“I guess we’ll have to split up.” Gray said in a serious voice. Natsu nodded and strode to the New Line, while Gray took the opposite.

“Natsu.” Gray suddenly said, “We’re up against an evil freak who wants to release magic a deadly spell. I know you might have some… reservations, due to your history, but please, remember, these guys… they’re not the good ones.”

“I know.” Natsu responded, thinking back to Tartaros, “Believe me, these guys are nothing like the guild I was in as a kid. What these guys are doing with Lullaby… the ones I was raised with would consider it an insult, a waste of time. I have no qualms about stopping this guy.”

Gray turned to him and smiled.

“Good. Then if you get him first, give him hell.”

Natsu grinned. Gray had no idea the irony of that statement. Natsu was an Etherious. A demon. Giving people hell was what he did.

“You don’t have to worry about that!” He replied, “I’ve got a bone to pick with that jerk for messing with Fairy Tail. I’m going to burn him to a crisp!” Not just for Fairy Tail, but for his brother too. Zeref would be horrified to learn that people were using his creations like this. He didn’t say that aloud though.

“Don’t die on me.”

Natsu heard Gray mutter. He turned back to look at him. That was really out of character for the Frozen Exhibitionist.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” Gray replied quickly, “Later, Loser!”

And with that, he ran off. Natsu stared for a beat before he too took off. What was that all about? Was Gray seriously that worried about this guy? He didn’t need to be. Natsu was basically impossible to kill. Gray didn’t know that though… If he did, he likely wouldn’t be friends with Natsu.

Natsu growled. Seriously. Where was this Erigor guy? Natsu know he must’ve run through half the building by now, but he hadn’t caught a whiff of that guy’s scent anywhere.

Well, he could always do the thing he and Jackal had done during the war. If you can’t find your enemy, draw them to you via big explosions!

He grinned and glanced at the nearest wall. Lighting his fists, he stormed straight through it. He then went through a few more, just for fun.

“Erigor!” He shouted, “Come out, come out, wherever you are! You in here?”

When he didn’t get an immediate response, he stopped punching through walls and doors. Maybe the guy couldn’t fly through all the smoke and debris? He growled again.

“Where is he?” He muttered. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone. He whirled around just in time to get punched in the face.

“There. I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.” said the asshole who would just _not_ leave Natsu alone. This was the third time today! Did this guy have a grudge or something?

“Had enough, Fairy Tail insect?” Asshole (What was his name again?) taunted. Natsu sputtered and growled, launching up out of the rubbish he had been sent flying into. Unfortunately, there was a picture he had gone through that was now stuck on his neck.

“Not you again!” He whined. “What is your problem?”

“Wow. You look like an idiot.” The guy (Doggy or something, right?) said, looking smug.

“Shut it, Doggy!” Natsu complained.

“It’s Kage! Not Doggy! Kage! The name. Is. Kage!” He shouted back, stamping his foot. Wow, talk about childish. Was that even his name? It didn’t even sound like much of a difference.

“Same thing, really.” Natsu muttered, half hoping this guy would catch it despite his inferior hearing. Unfortunately, he didn’t.

“Anyway.” Kage continued on, “I think I’ve got you all figured out this time. You eat flames to increase your power.”

No duh. Had it seriously taken the guy this long to figure that out? And people called _Natsu_ an idiot!

“Isn’t that your big trick? Shouldn’t be hard to stomp out.”

Natsu resisted the urge to laugh. This guy would not want see any of Natsu’s ‘Big Tricks.’ He’d probably wet himself or something.

Natsu finally just ripped the picture off of himself. He needed to get back to business

“I really want to teach you a lesson now, but I haven’t the time!” He shouted, “So just tell me where Erigor is!”

Kage snarled.

“You think I’m just going to tell you that? If you really want to know, then you’re going to have to beat it out of me!”

Kage activated his magic and those shadowy rope things came flying at Natsu. Again. He raised his arms to block them. If this guy wanted to fight, then Natsu wasn’t about to say no.

“So, I get to knock you around and I get to find out where Erigor went? That’s just killing two birds with one stone! I’m getting all fired up.” Natsu informed Kage with a grin, batting off the last of his magic shadows.

Natsu jumped up, lit his fists, the pushed off the wall behind him straight towards Kage. Kage made a futile to stop his attack with some snake-like shadows, but Natsu barreled through them, punching Kage straight through the wall behind him. Natsu stood up as the dust and debris began to settle.”

“That’s impossible.” Kage gasped from his spot on the ground, “With only one shot… To think wizards like this really exist…”

Well, Natsu was a special case but there were plenty of wizards who could do that, or something to the same effect.

“Ready to talk? If not, I’ve got a fireball with your name on it.” Natsu threatened. Kage whimpered in fear, a reaction Natsu hadn’t really gotten since he was in Tartaros.

“Your- you’re a monster!” Kage cried. Natsu smirked and crouched down, getting straight into Kage’s face, fists still lit.

“No.” He whispered, “I’m much worse.”

He summoned just the slightest of his Curse, so that the faint image of his Etherious form could be seen.

Kage sobbed, eyes wide.

Natsu stood up, then kicked Kage through the next wall. He whimpered and curled in on himself, staring at Natsu in fear. Natsu winced to himself. He hadn’t intended to scare him that bad.

“Wow, that was fun!” He commented, trying to seem friendly. Kage just whimpered.

“You going to tell me where Erigor is now?” Natsu questioned.

Kage swallowed hard.

“He- he’s long gone now. He’s not even in the station anymore.”

“What?!” Natsu exclaimed. Kageyama whimpered again.

“Natsu! Do not harm him!”

Natsu turned at the sound of Erza’s voice. It was a little late for that.

“We need him alive!” Erza shouted again.

Well, he hadn’t failed that part. Kageyama was still alive. Terrified of him, but alive.

“Way to go, you Fire Freak!” Gray complained.

What? What had he even done?

Then he noticed Erza jumping up towards him, sword ready to strike. Shit.

“I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, but I’m sorry alright?!” He squeaked in terror.

Then Erza flew right over him, shoving her sword into the wall next to Kageyama’s head.

“You will dispel the wind barrier and do so without complaint!” She ordered. Kageyama screamed, not that Natsu could blame him. If Natsu were in Kageyama’s place, he would scream too.

“Alright!” Kage blubbered. “I’ll dispel it!”

Then he groaned and blood spurted out of his mouth and chest as a hand went straight through him. Kageyama gasped, eyes wide with pain.

“Why… Karacka?” He moaned, as a strange, noseless man appeared out wall behind him.

“Kage!” Erza exclaimed.

“No…” Gray gasped.

Natsu could do nothing but stand there in horror. How could someone try to kill their own guildmate?

“He was our only way out of here!” Gray cried, aa Erza knelt down and pulled Kageyama on to her lap.

“Kage, don’t you dare die on us!” Erza shouted, “We need your help! Do you hear me?”

“I think we’re losing him Erza!” Gray warned, leaning in to look at the gaping hole in the dark mage’s chest.

“You’re the only one of us that’s able to dispel the wind barrier!” Erza called, pleading to Kageyama. “Just hang on!”

Natsu turned his full attention to the guy still half in the wall. The one who had just critically injured his own guildmate. Kage had called him Karacka.

Natsu clenched his fists in fury.

“How could you do that to one of your own guildmates? Your friends?” He demanded, trying to process everything through the shock, “He’s a member of your guild! He trusted you and you tried to kill him!”

Natsu drew back a fist and flew through the air towards the quivering betrayer, his entire body aflame.

“How could you?!” He screamed as the man drew entirely back into the wall. Natsu punched through the wall, finding the coward in the room behind it.

“Is that how you dark guild members treat each other?” He growled.

“Natsu.” Gray warned. Natsu whirled around.

“What?”

The Ice Bastard gestured to where Erza (who was carrying Kageyama) Lucy, and Happy were leaving. Wait. When had Lucy and Happy gotten there?

“Fine.” Natsu hissed, turning back around, “Just let me teach this asshole a les-”

Karacka had disappeared. Shit.

“Come on.” Gray said, rolling his eyes, “We’ve got more important things to worry about.”

Natsu stalked out the door.

“So what’s going on now?” He growled.

“We’ve learned Erigor’s true objective.” Gray explained, “He plans to use that flute on the Guild Masters, and he’s trapped us in here with a wind barrier while he goes after them.”

“What?!” Lucy exclaimed, “He wants to use Lullaby on the Guild Masters?!”

“We have to stop him.” Natsu hissed as they arrived at the wind barrier. Damn. That thing was bigger that he’d thought it would be.

“Easier said then done.” Erza noted, setting down Kage. “Erigor cut off our only means of reaching Clover and is headed there by air.”

“I’m pretty sure we can catch up to him on the magic mobile.” Gray argued, “but we can’t do anything until we figure out how to get on the other side of this barrier.”

“How are we going to do that?” Lucy cried out, worried.

Technically, Natsu could probably get through using his Dragon Force form, but definitely his Etherious form. Unfortunately, the second one likely wasn’t going to be an option and the first one was taking a huge risk. But Makarov, his Guild Master, his _family_ , was in danger.

“Kage, wake up!” Erza said, shaking the man in question, “You’re our only hope right now!”

Natsu growled and lit his fists, stalking towards the barrier.

“I- need- to- break- through!” He screamed, pounding the barrier. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have any effect. Instead, he got sent flying halfway across the balcony.

“Nastsu!” Lucy shouted. Oops. He hadn’t intended to worry her.

“Cut it out!” Gray said, “Idiot. Obviously brute force isn’t going to do you any good.”

Natsu sat up, resisting the urge to give the stripper the middle finger while Erza was so near.

Lucy turned towards the Ice Bastard.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” she cried desperately, “Try freezing it, then Natsu can melt it!”

“If I could, I would have done that already!” Gray pointed out, annoyed.

Natsu growled. This debating wasn’t helping. They weren’t even trying to do anything!

Lighting his fists again, he leapt back towards the wind barrier, managing to get his fists inside. The wind started to tear into him. Dammit. Dammit! He needed his scales!

“Stop it!” Lucy screamed, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him back, “You’re going to get torn to shreds!”

Natsu stopped and stared at the Celestial Spirit mage, who was still gripping him with her eyes closed. Wait. Celestial Spirit mage.

Lucy opened her eyes, noticing his staring, and blushed.

“What?” She asked.

“Lucy! Remember that Everlue guys’ mansion where I got brought one place to another by grabbing on to that spirit? We could do that!”

Lucy groaned.

“It doesn’t work that way, Natsu!”

He stared at her.

“What?”

“One, people generally cannot travel through the celestial spirit realm so I have no idea how you did it, and two, a celestial spirit wizard can only open a spirit gate to where they are, so we would need another celestial wizard to open a gate on the other side!”

Oh. Well, he knew why he had survived, but that wouldn’t work for the rest of them. And he’d forgotten that thing about the gates. Anna had told him that. Of course, she had also said Celestial Spirits couldn’t survive long in this realm either and yet Leo (or Loke, whatever he called himself) was still here and had been a member of Fairy Tail for years. He was also pretending to be human, but whatever. So was Natsu.

“Not to mention,” Lucy continued, “Going through the Spirit Realm is a serious breach of contract! I didn’t care before because it was Everlue’s Key, but I refuse to break a contract!”

Well, he hadn’t known that.

“Wait a sec… Everlue’s key…” Happy mumbled. Then he suddenly screamed. “I just remembered Lucy!”

She stared at him

“Remembered what?”

“What I was trying to tell you on the way here!”

Happy had been talking to Luce on the way here? He didn’t remember. He had been puking his guts out most the time and trying to ignore the sound of Gray’s voice as the Ice Bastard told Luce about his past.

“On the way here… Oh yeah, you mean when you kept calling me weird?” Luce hissed.

“Look!” Happy exclaimed, pulling a golden Celestial Key out of his pack.

“How’d you get your paws on Virgo’s key?!” Lucy screamed, grabbing Happy. Wait. That was _Virgo’s_ key? Meaning that gorilla was Virgo? It explained why the scent was so familiar, but what had happened to her? That was not how Natsu remembered her at all.

“Didn’t anyone teach you that it’s wrong to steal things?” Lucy berated Happy.

“But I didn’t steal it!” Happy protested. Natsu believed him. Happy would never steal something he couldn’t eat.

“She asked me to give it to you!” Happy finished. Lucy gasped and let go of him.

“C’mon guys. We’re wasting way too much of our time listening to this nonsense.” Gray complained. What an idiot. Didn’t he know that Virgo could travel underground?

“Apparently Virgo’s contract with Everlue was broken the moment he got arrested!” Happy explained as he held out the Key, “But before we left that day she came to me and said she wanted to sign a new contract with you, Lucy!”

“Great.” Lucy muttered, “I get a big ugly spirit.”

Well that wasn’t very nice. Virgo didn’t normally look like that. Besides, she could be a big help right now!

“Anyways,” Lucy continued, “Thanks for letting me know, but I’ll have to deal with her later.”

“But-” Happy protested,

“Not now! We have other things to deal with. Why can’t you just meow like every other cat?” Lucy complained. Happy teared up.

“But- I just thought- since Virgo can drill into the ground- maybe she could make a tunnel to the other side of the barrier!”

About time someone mentioned that.

“What!” Erza yelled.

“She can?!” Ice Bastard exclaimed in shock.

“That’s right!” Lucy said, “I’d completely forgotten. Why didn’t you mention that sooner, you silly cat?”

“Cause you kept stopping me!” Happy complained. He wasn’t wrong.

Lucy sighed.

“I’m sorry. I should have listened. Can I please have the Key?”

Happy nodded cheerfully and handed it over. Lucy stood up and walked a few paces away from the rest of them. Holding the Key out in front of her, she began to summon Virgo.

“I call upon thee, in the world of the Celestial Spirits, and now, I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate! Open, gate of the Maiden! Virgo!”

With a flash of light and a few twirls, Virgo appeared- and she didn’t look anything like a gorilla. In fact, she looked a lot like she had when Anna had her key. Sure, her outfit was a newer style and her hair was a bit shorter, but beyond that she looked practically the same! What the hell had just happened?

“Huh?” Lucy gaped. Oh. Good to know that the Celestial Spirit mage was also confused.

“You summoned, mistress?” Virgo asked with a slight bow, “What can I do for you?”

“Who are you?” Lucy questioned. Jeez. It was obviously Virgo. Lucy had literally just summoned her. Man, was Luce a Weirdo.

Natsu walked over, wondering if she recognized him. Leo didn’t. Neither had Aquarius or Taurus, but his interactions with them had been pretty brief, without in real conversations.

“Hey Virgo!” He greeted with a wave. “You look great. You lost some weight!”

“Hello.” She greeted in return, “I apologize for any trouble I might have caused you.”

“She didn’t just lose weight Natsu!” Lucy yelled. Well, no, she hadn’t, but it was kinda rude to point out in Natsu’s opinion. Especially when the person in question was standing right there.

“What do you mean?” Ice Bastard asked.

“She’s like a totally different person!” Lucy exclaimed. Virgo turned towards her with a smile.

“I am a very loyal spirit who will do anything to please her wizard.” Virgo stated calmly, “So I try to take on whatever form I think my wizard will find most appealing.”

Oh. That made a lot of sense, actually. That could be fun too.

Natsu grinned.

“Oh?” He asked, “I kinda liked it when you were all big and tough looking.”

“Did you really?” Virgo asked, “Well then.”

With a flash of light she suddenly grew into the form she had in Everlue’s mansion.

“Woah…” Natsu gasped, looking up at her. Man was she tall.

“Is this better?” She asked, voice low.

“Don’t listen to him!” Lucy protested, “I’m your wizard and I like the other form better!”

Virgo shrunk back down. Huh. Kinda a shame. That other form was pretty cool, though it’d probably be pretty impractical most of the time.

“As you wish, Mistress.” Virgo stated.

“I’m afraid we don’t have much time,” Lucy explained, “Can we work out the contract details later?”

Virgo turned so she was completely facing Lucy.

“Of course. Whatever you’d like, Mistress.”

“Do you really have to call me Mistress?” Lucy asked with a sigh.

“Would you prefer I called you Queen?”

“No.”

“What about Princess?”

Luce got a weird look on her face at that.

“Oh, yeah. That’s more like it.”

“Princess? Yeah right.” Gray muttered beside him.

“Hurry it up ladies!” Natsu called, become aware suddenly of how long they’d been standing there.

“Yes sir.” Virgo said with a bow, “Now.”

With that, Virgo drilled a huge hole straight through the ground.

“Oh wow, look at her go!” Gray exclaimed. Man, that guy didn’t even know half of what Virgo could do- like her ability to make really good food. Natsu had more than a few memories where Anna had summoned her to make dinner for him and the other dragon slayers.

“Nicely done Lucy.” Erza said, slamming the blondes’ head into her breastplate. Natsu resisted the urge to laugh.

“Alright you guys, time to bust out of this joint.” Gray declared.

Natsu grinned, then turned towards the unconscious Kageyama, lifting him up. Gray frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“I know he’s our enemy, but I’d feel guilty if we just left him here to die.” Natsu responded. Plus, he felt ashamed for how bad he’d scared the guy earlier.

Erza smiled at him.

“Alright then. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review!


	5. Not Too Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my word I am so sorry for how late this is I got really ill and then I had to catch up on school work and then I had my first weekend home since going to college so I know this is late and I am really sorry. RL sucks.
> 
> Anyways! I really hated writing this chapter because of all the fight scenes... I hate writing fight scenes... you'll have to tell me how those turned out. But this chapter is just short of twenty pages so I'm pretty proud of myself. This chapter also marks the end of the Lullaby Arc! Yay! Next will be Galuna Island Arc...
> 
> Read and Review please!

Natsu grinned as he and Happy flew through the air at top speed. He could go faster if he’d been flying with his own wings, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

“There he is, Happy!” Natsu called, eyeing Erigor as the creep flew ahead of them.

“I see him!” Happy responded.

“We’ve got you now!” Natsu shouted, “Bet you didn’t think we’d be flying at top speed, did ya?”

Erigor turned around to look at them, giving Natsu the perfect opportunity to kick him straight in the face as they crashed into one another.

Natsu dropped as Erigor went skidding. Then he realized Happy wasn’t on his back anymore. The blue cat dropped into his arms, exhausted.

“You okay?” Natsu asked, concerned.

“Yeah, but… I’m so tired. My body…” Happy panted, eyes closed and dripping sweat. Natsu smiled, setting Happy gently on the ground.

“Don’t worry Buddy. I think I can handle him from here.”

“You again.”

Natsu looked up at the sound of Erigor’s voice.

“You’re one of those pesky Fairy Tail flies. What are you doing here?”

Seriously. What was with people calling them flies? It was really unoriginal at this point.

Natsu lit his fists with a grin. With Happy passed out and none of the others there, he could go nearly all out. At least, as much as he could in this form.

“I’m not letting you past me, you rag-wearing windbag!” Natsu called, “I’m going to burn you to a crisp!”

“So you were able to break through my wind barrier.” Erigor commented, “You little flies can be such a nuisance. Now get out of my way kid. Or else.”

Who was this guy calling a kid? Natsu was way older! He suddenly felt a great deal of sympathy for his brother, who had never aged past nineteen and looked even younger. He must have been dealing with this for centuries longer than Natsu.

Erigor shot a blast of wind at Natsu. Natsu stood there bored. The wind barrier had been much stronger. This was weak.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Natsu called. He grinned, relighting his fists, and jumped up, barreling at Erigor and landing a solid punch on the mans’ midriff. Erigor began to cough.

“You’re more powerful than I thought. But don’t get cocky!” Erigor called, sending out another, much more powerful, wind attack. It actually managed to knock Natsu off his feet.

“Natsu!”

Happy was awake again. Shit. He couldn’t go all out now.

Natsu squealed for dramatic effect a he allowed himself to be thrown off the bridge. He vaguely registered Happy calling for him.

He squeaked in pain as he suddenly fell headfirst into a giant block of stone. Joy. Whelp, time to get out of here. He stood up and glanced at the giant stone pillars.

With an exasperated sigh, he began to jump up on to them, occasionally using his fire to give him an extra boost. Finally, he reached the top with a roar.

“Natsu!” Happy cried out in relief. Poor little guy. He hadn’t meant to scare him.

“That was really not cool!” Natsu yelled at Erigor, “I’m going to make you pay! You feeling cold up there half-naked like you are? I’m about to warm you up real good!”

“That’s impossible!” Erigor screamed. Heh. That guy hadn’t seen anything yet.

“Alright then. It’s time to get serious!” Erigor yelled. Natsu smirked. There was no need for _him_ to get serious.

“Whenever you’re ready!” he responded. Erigor grinned, suddenly covering his entire body in a miniature wind barrier. Talk about weird.

“Coward!” Natsu yelled. Erigor laughed. Whatever. Natsu could still beat him, no problem. Natsu lit his fists. Erigor flew straight up, making five magic circles that released a bunch of tornados down on to Natsu that blew out his fire and ripped his vest to shreds.

“You’re going to die here, Fairy Fly!” Erigor laughed, “But don’t worry, as soon as I play this flute at the meeting, your dear master will join you!”

Natsu growled again, relighting his fists as he stood up.

“All you talk about is that dumb flute!” He yelled, “If you want to kill the guild masters, you have to go through me!”

“How are you even standing?” Erigor gasped. Wow. He still didn’t understand that he was way out of his league. Well. Natsu was going to beat it into him.

Bending down, he focused on his dragon slayer flames, brining as much of their fire to him as he could. More he needed more.

With a deep inhale, he jumped straight towards Erigor, tackling him and throwing him straight into the air.

“Hope this teaches you to never mess with Fairy Tail again!” he screamed.

“You go, Natsu!” He heard Happy shout as he landed. Erigor crashed back down on to the bridge, unconscious.

“You did it Natsu! You beat him!” Happy cried as he ran over.

“You bet I did!” Natsu said with a grin.

The sound of a vehicle made him look up. Wait. Was that Erza on the magic mobile?

“Natsu!” Lucy cried, jumping out as Erza brought the vehicle to a stop.

“Hey you guys!” Natsu greeted, “You hust missed seeing me beat Erigor!”

“Aye!” Happy agreed.

“I’m proud of you.” Erza said as Lucy helped her off of the magic mobile. Wow. She must have really worn herself out. He couldn’t help but feel pleased by the praise though. It was rare for Erza to say she was proud of anyone.

“You going to be okay, Erza?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, I’ll be alright. Don’t worry about me.” Erza reassured her, though anyone could see that she was completely worn out.

“I can’t believe you had such a hard time with this guy.” Gray snarked as he walked over.

“I never said that it was hard! I took care of him, didn’t I?” Natsu protested.

“I gotta admit, I was worried for a while there.” Happy said. Why was he on Gray’s side?

“Whatever. You look pretty stupid wearing a scarf with no vest.” Ice Bastard said. Natsu growled.

“Like you’ve got any room to talk!” He yelled, gesturing to the strippers’ naked chest. At least he was wearing pants.

“At any rate, well done Natsu.” Erza interrupted, “Thanks to you, the guild masters will be safe.” Natsu grinned. That’s right. They would. Gramps was safe.

“While we’re here, I think we should stop by the conference to tell them what happened.” Erza said, “and discuss how to properly dispose of the Lullaby flute.”

Natsu’s world slowed. Dispose… of it? They wanted to kill it? It may not be an Etherious like he was, but it was still one of his brothers’ demons. He wasn’t sure he could just let them kill it.

Natsu was startled out of his thoughts by a loud crash. Kageyama had stolen the magic mobile and Lullaby.

“Kage!” Erza exclaimed

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gray asked.

“See you later, Fairy Tail Flies! Lullaby’s mine now! You shouldn’t have let your guard down!”

“This is how he repays us back for saving his life?!” Lucy yelled.

“That jerk!” Natsu shouted. He couldn’t help but feel a little grateful that he didn’t have to worry about destroying Lullaby yet though.

“After him!” Erza declared.

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu’s mind was racing as he ran. They needed to get there faster. Faster! If they were too late… he didn’t want to think about it.

He skid to a stop as they reached the edge of a cliff. He could smell Gramps- and Kageyama and Lullaby.

“There he is.” Gray exclaimed, pointing down.

“Gramps!” Natsu cried happily. They had got here in time. They weren’t too late.

“Master Makarov!” Erza shouted.

“Shhhh.”

The group all whirled around to see another mage. How had Natsu missed his scent? It wasn’t like him. He was going to blame stress.

“We’re just about to get to the good part.” The large mage said, then glanced at Natsu and Gray. “Well aren’t you boys yummy. So adorable.”

Natsu grabbed on to Gray. This guy was freaky.

“Who the heck is that guy?” Lucy whispered furiously at Erza. Good question.

“That is Master Bob.”

Oh. Natsu recognized him now. He’d never met the guy in person before.

“Erza honey, you have really filled out!” Master Bob complimented, turning away from Natsu and Gray.

“You’re telling me that weirdo is the Master of the Blue Pegasus guild?” Lucy asked, looking somewhat scandalized.

Suddenly, Natsu heard Gramps’ voice again. That’s right! He was still in trouble!

“Well, I haven’t got all night.”

Natsu and Gray both made to leap down, but were grabbed by Master Bob.

Natsu struggled and growled. He didn’t want to hurt this guy, but if he needed to to save Gramps he would!

“Would you guys keep it down over there? We’re just getting to the good part.”

Natsu glanced over to see a mage with a spiky hat leaning against a tree. Hey, wasn’t he another guild master? Of like… Cute Puppy or something.

“He’s with Quatro Cerberus!” Lucy exclaimed. Oh. Was that the name of his guild?

“He’s their Master, Goldmine.” Erza responded.

Why weren’t the girls going to Gramps? No one was restraining them!

“Well?” Gramps asked Kageyama in annoyance. No. No!

Natsu began to scramble desperately as he felt the familiar sensation of his brother’s magic activating. He escaped Bob’s hold a ran to the edge of the cliff alongside everyone else, to see Gramps talking to Kageyama.

“Nothing’s going to change. You cannot change the fact that those who are weak will forever remain weak. Now maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I mean, we humans are weak creatures by nature. Our insecurities are the reason that guilds even exist. And they’re why we have friends.”

Natsu watched intently as Kageyama brought the flute away from his face, listening to Gramps. Yes. Yes. If he lost those emotions, the source of magic, then Lullaby could not draw on them an reach it’s true form.

“When we’re surrounded by those allies it’s easier to stay positive about the future. Think of it this way. If we’re clumsy, then we may stumble and bump into things, but as long as we have faith in our future, we continue marching forward. Our inner strength emerges. But we have to choose that path. Pledge to live our lives to the fullest! Don’t let that silly flute get in the way.”

Lullaby tumbled from Kageyama’s hands and clattered on the ground. Kageyama fell to his knees beside it.

“I surrender.” He murmured.

Perfect. He was no longer touching Lullaby.

“Master!” Erza exclaimed, running down the hill. Guess that was their cue.

“You stopped him!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Good job Gramps!” Gray agreed.

“Wah- how did you kids end up in Clover?” Gramps babbled in surprise.

“Master Makarov!” Erza exclaimed, ramming Gramps’ head against her breastplate, “Your words touched me so deeply I was almost moved to tears!”

Natsu grinned and pat Gramps on the head after Erza let him go.

“Well, looks like we got here just in time to see Gramps talk himself out of another one!” Gray commented.

“Ahahahaha!”

Natsu could have hit himself for having forgetting the real danger as he felt Lullaby draw on it’s power to assume it’s true form.

“I have grown tired of all of you cowardly wizards and your antics!” Lullaby exclaimed. A giant magic circle appeared over them. That made Natsu feel a bit better. Magic circles were used when you were either low on power or unable to do anything more complicated.

“I can no longer hold back!” Lullaby cried.

Ha. So far, Natsu wasn’t actually all that impressed. Being one of his brothers’ creations, Lullaby was sure to be powerful, but it actually looked like Lullaby was pretty low on power right now.

The flute rose into the air below the magic circle, lightening shooting everywhere. The flute suddenly grew and transformed, giant wooden legs and arms shooting out of it.

“I shall feast upon your pitiful souls!” Lullaby roared. Huh. Not exactly what Natsu was expecting. Lullaby was clearly one of Zeref’s older works, with how crude the design was.

“It’s so big!” Lucy exclaimed, terrified.

“Way to state the obvious!” Happy commented; the cat was hiding his fear better. Kageyama, however, wasn’t trying to mask terror.

“What is that thing? Erigor never said anything about a monster!” He cried. Natsu snorted. Lullaby was a demon, not a monster.  Seriously. They already knew that his big brother had basically made Lullaby, but couldn’t put that together? Was he an idiot?

“Oh my. We’re in a pickle.” Bob commented.

“It must be a demon from the Book of Zeref.” Goldmine said.

“No.” Natsu corrected, “Lullaby was a flute.”

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“What?” He asked defensively.

“You realize that he was referring to Lullaby as a creation from the Book of Zeref, not saying that he was a book, right?” Gray asked.

“Well most of Zeref’s demons are books! Lullaby is clearly one of the older creations- just look at that rudimentary design!”

Gray blinked.

“You know the word ‘rudimentary’?”

Natsu growled. Was Ice Bastard trying to imply that he was an idiot?

“That’s not important right now you guys!” Lucy yelled, gesturing towards Lullaby, “I mean, how does a flute turn into a demon the first place?!”

“That’s what Lullaby’s true form is.” Goldmine responded, “It’s forbidden Black Magic: Living Magic. Zeref’s specialty.”

Natsu was pretty sure that his brother’s specialty at this point was probably Ankhersam Black Magic, but he decided that he best keep quiet on that.

“Living Magic?” Erza gasped.

“Zeref. Of course.” Gray growled.

Bob nodded in agreement.

“Yes. He’s the most evil wizard the world has ever known. He was very powerful in his day. But in my wildest dreams I never imagined his dark legacy would pop back up again!”

Natsu was torn between punching Bob and laughing. Punching him because he insulted Natsu’s brother, and laugh because: One, Zeref was still very powerful, of that Natsu had no doubts and two Natsu was a part of that so-called ‘dark legacy’, as were the other four dragon slayers.

“Natsu?”

He looked down to see Lucy at his side, looking up at him in concern. Right. That’s right. She knew now. Welp, guess he wouldn’t be punching or laughing at Bob.

Natsu turned back towards Lullaby as he heard the wood of it’s body creak as it leaned down.

“Which of these delectable souls shall I dine on first?” Lullaby hissed.

Oh hell no. Lullaby may be Natsu’s kin, but it was most definitely not allowed to eat anyone.

“Delectable, huh?!” He called back, annoyed. Then he turned to Gray. “Do you think souls are actually that tasty?”

He had never tried them before. Hell, he wasn’t even aware demons could eat souls! Why had Zeref never mentioned that?

“How the hell should I know what they taste like?” Gray demanded. Oh right. He wasn’t a demon.

“You guys always have food on the brain…” Lucy sighed.

“Natsu and Gray, get everyone to a safe place!” Erza directed.

“Quick barking orders!” Natsu complained. He wanted to fight and was really freaking tired of being ordered about.

“Yeah, you’re not the boss of us!” Gray said in agreement.

Erza glared at them.

“Just do it!”

Natsu latched on to Gray.

“Yes Ma’am!” they called, running off. Seriously. Defying Erza was not worth the punishment when she got like this.

He let go of Gray as soon as it was safe to do so, noting that the civilians seemed to have already evacuated.

“Back to the fight then!” He declared with glee. Gray grinned beside them as they ran back towards Erza and the upcoming battle.

Suddenly there was a loud boom, and an bright light lit up the entire sky. Natsu had to dig his feet into the ground to stop himself from being sent flying. When the dust cleared, he realized that one of the mountains had been completely obliterated. Joy. Thanks Big Bro.

It seemed Zeref had gone for a lot of firepower- which Natsu could totally understand- and not much else.

He heard the shouts of ‘retreat’ to his right. Huh. He didn’t even know the Fiorean Army was here.

“I have no need for those pathetic humans.” Lullaby declared, “I prefer the taste of a wizards’ soul, and I will consume all of yours!”

“Oh yeah?” Natsu asked, striding forward “I’d like to see you try!”

Due to having been revived as an Etherious, and then becoming a Dragon Slayer, Natsu had multiple souls (which, aside from the original soul, were known as seeds). It would be hilarious seeing this demon trying to eat any of Natsu’s souls. Lullaby likely wouldn’t be able to consume them- not to mention it would panic when it realized that Natsu was an Etherious.

Lullaby narrowed its lower two eyes, then began to roar. A giant magic circle appeared in the air above Lullaby, the roar growing louder.

“Ready?” Erza asked, pulling two swords out of her requip dimension.

“Oh yeah.” Natsu responded. He was going to kick this things ass and show who was the better demon of Zeref.

He jumped into the air after Erza, Gray right behind him. Erza switched to her Knight Armor, leaving to deep slashes into Lullaby’s side. Gray followed up with a bunch of ice lances, which struck Lullaby across its left side, right where Erza had hit moments prior.

“Now it’s my turn.” Natsu said with a grin as he lit up his fist, landing a punch across Lullaby’s face. Erza went in for another hit, Gray right behind her. Natsu was about to jump in, but they suddenly retreated to stand on the rocky cliff beside him. So they were going to attack all at once then? Alright.

Erza prepared to jump again, as she wasn’t wearing armor that was particularly good for long distance fighting, while Gray made more lances. Natsu lit both fists and flew through the air after Erza, so that they all hit right after another, giving Lullaby no time to recuperate.

Lullaby roared again, the magic circle above it expanding momentarily, before suddenly disappearing.

What was it doing? It hadn’t stopped roaring, and was drawing wind towards in instead of blowing it away. Wait.

Natsu glanced around, noticing the vegetation dying, almost like his brothers’ curse. But that wasn’t it. His brother would never do that. So what-

Oh. Oh. Lullaby was sucking the life force out of everything, wasn’t it? It was trying to get more power.

“In just one moment your souls will be mine!” Lullaby declared, slapping its fists together. Natsu crouched down, covering his ears as he prepared for Lullaby’s attack. He watched intently, unsure of how the attack would affect him, only for Lullaby to… wheeze?

“What happened?” He heard Lucy shout from his left.

“Nothing happened!” Happy exclaimed.

“I don’t understand!” Lullaby cried, “Why can’t I play my melody of death?!”

“It must be because of all of those attacks!” Kageyama said.

“They punched so many holes in that thing, it totally messed up its sound!” Lucy agreed.

Natsu laughed. Damn right they did! They were awesome!

“You dare mock me?!” Lullaby screamed, aiming another attack at Lucy, Happy, Kageyama and the guild masters. Gray immediately jumped to their defense, as Natsu and Erza prepared their final attacks against Lullaby.

“I will kill you all!” Lullaby declared in fury as the forest around him began to burn. Natsu resisted the urge to laugh as he began to suck in the flames- because there was practically no way Lullaby was going to when at this point. Besides, if anyone was as stupid as to kill Natsu (again), they would find themselves subjected to Zeref’s wrath. Also, Zeref would revive him.

“Oh yeah?” He called out, “Now I’ve got a fire in my belly!”

“You’re not human!” Lullaby declared, “You’re a monster!”

How was he supposed to respond to that? They were both demons, for heavens’ sake!

“Like you can talk!” He complained back as he ran up the demons’ arm.

“Stop climbing me!” Lullaby protested.

Natsu noticed Erza requip into her Dark Wings Armor out of the corner of his eye and he prepared to leap, as Gray struck with a powerful attack across Lullaby’s middle and Erza landed a strike across the flute demon’s neck.

“Natsu, now!” Gray shouted.

“I’ve got this.” Natsu declared as he lit both of his fists, jumping into the air, then launching the massive fireball straight at Lullaby.

It hit the other demon in the chest, sending it toppling to the ground. A powerful beam of magic shot into the air, and Lullaby shrunk out of its true form.

Natsu fell to the ground beside the flute, slipping it into a pocket, while pretending to look for it.

“Do you see it Natsu?” Gray called.

“No!” He shouted back, “I think it got destroyed- that’s probably what that giant beam was!”

Gray nodded and turned away as Natsu jumped over the trees to the cliff where everyone else was waiting.

“Good job.” Gramps said, nodding his head towards them.

“You were amazing.” Bob declared.

“You made defeating a demon look easy!” Goldmine complimented. Natsu shrugged as he, Gray, and Erza strode forward.

“Lullaby wasn’t at full power. Besides, like I said earlier, Lullaby is clearly one of Zeref’s older creations- it’s not a book.”

“Are all Fairy Tail wizards this strong?” Kageyama asked, looking up at all of them in amazement and fear.

“There’s no doubt about it: this is the strongest team!” Lucy declared.

“Aye!” Happy agreed.

“We’re an awesome guild, aren’t we?!” Gramps exclaimed.

Natsu grinned at them.

“Great work out there guys!” Lucy complimented- and oh did she ever sound like Anna when she said that.

“Thanks,” He responded, staring at her, “But it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Yeah, piece of cake.” Gray agreed.

They all burst into laughter at that.

“I can’t claim to know what exactly just happened, but I think it’s clear we all owe a big round of thanks to the Fairy Tail guild.” Goldmine commented. Yeah, they did! He, Erza and Gray had just saved all their asses! Erza was the only S- class wizard of them, while those guys were all guild masters! Seriously! What the fuck?!

“Even so I must say,” Another guild master began, “They went overboard!”

Natsu turned around to glance at the giant crater. It’s not like they were that bad. They could have left the forest to burn, and Clover was still mostly intact.

“The conference hall is destroyed!” Lucy exclaimed.

Well, yeah. But that wasn’t that bad.

“Aye!” Happy commented, “Ther’s also an entire mountaintop missing!”

That was not their fault! Lullaby did that! Not them!

Gramps fell to the ground with a groan. Natsu laughed.

“We sure made a mess of the place, huh?”

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu waited for Lucy to fall asleep as he took the third watch. Only when he was sure that she was asleep did he pull Lullaby out of his pocket. He walked to the edges of their camp, so that he didn’t wake anyone, and gently tapped Lullaby.

 _“Hello Lullaby.”_ He murmured in Ethos, _“Can you understand me?”_

There was no response, then the eyes lit up.

 _“Yes,”_ it hissed back, _“I understand you. Who are you, that you know this language?”_

 _“My name is Natsu.”_ He responded, _“But you might know me as END.”_

The flute stayed quiet for a minute.

 _“Those names are familiar,”_ it admitted, _“But I cannot place you.”_

Natsu smiled.

_“The one who made you- gave you life- do you remember him?”_

_“Of course I remember him!”_ Lullaby declared, indignant, _“Lord Zeref!”_

 _“Yes.”_ Natsu agreed, _“I am his younger brother, and his most powerful demon.”_

_“Oh..oh! Master END! Of Tartaros! Are you going to free me? Are you a secret agent for Lord Zeref? Oh, no one has heard from you in centuries! Lord Zeref became quite depressed after you left… He began wandering once more.”_

_“Do you know where my brother is?”_ Natsu asked excitedly.

_“No… I had hoped that you had. If you are not his agent, then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with you guild, Lord END?”_

_“I am with my guild.”_ Natsu responded, _“I joined a wizarding guild- Fairy Tail. They’re my family now. That’s why I fought you- I couldn’t let you hurt the ones I love. But I couldn’t let them destroy you either. You’re like… kin. You’re a fellow demon of Zeref.”_

 _“I see.”_ Lullaby said, _“I apologize for harming those close to you, Lord END.”_

_“Don’t worry about it. I’m going to keep you with me for the foreseeable future- If I meet up with my brother, I’ll give you to him.”_

_“Very well. Feel free to call on me should you ever need my help.”_

Natsu smiled.

_“Thank you.”_

The flute merely shook in his hand, the lights fading from its eyes. Natsu sighed and stood up, pocketing the other demon once more before heading back towards the campfire. He shook Gray’s shoulder.

“What?” He grumbled.

“Your turn for watch.” Natsu whispered back, careful not to wake Erza.

Gray groaned and sat up.

“Kay.”

Natsu yawned and walked over to his bedroll.

“Hey Natsu?”

“Yeah?”

“Good job. You know- with handling everything. You fought despite your past. So good job.” Gray said, looking a bit uncomfortable

Natsu laid down, refusing to lookup at the ice-make mage.

“Yeah. Thanks.” He responded, then closed his eyes, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing at him as he slipped off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Review!


	6. S Class Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we jump headfirst into the Galuna Island Arc!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp this took for freaking ever to write. It's literally a quarter of the story so far. I really hope you all enjoy it, because my hands now hurt. It might be a while until the next update too, btw.  
> I've gotten a lot of comments about when reveals and confrontations and whatnot are going to be, and my answer is: not for a while. What I'm doing of the Macao arc and Lullaby arc are finished. This is the Galuna Island Arc. After this is the Phantom Lord arc where there will be the first reveal (same one as in canon though. It just means more for Natsu) then Loke (sorta), then Tower of Heaven, then Battle of Fairy Tail, then Oracion Seis, (not doing Daphne Arc) then Edolas, then Tenrou, then x791, then maybe Key of the Starry Skies, then Grand Magic Games, (skipping the Eclipise arc) then Sun Village, then Tartaros, and I'm not sure how that will end quite yet so maybe Avatar and Alvarez? There will likely be something, though it may not closely follow canon. if you want more details, contact me at my tumblr.  
> Please, read and review!

Natsu groaned from where he was leaning over the edge of the boat. He hated boats. Hated them. They were torture devices. He swore it.

“I warn you. Tragedy befalls anyone who steps foot on the island.” The boat-guy said, “There’s no avoiding it. That is, unless you’re able to lift the curse.”

Suddenly, Lucy, Happy, and Ice Bastard all gasped. Natsu looked up.

Woah.

His arm.

This guy had a demon arm! Was he like Mira or something?

“This vile demon’s curse.” Boat-guy said.

That was not a curse. At least, Natsu had never heard of any curse like that. And that arm- and the guy, actually- smelled demonic, but not Etherious demonic.

“Woah, your arm!” Ice Bastard exclaimed. He was being slower than normal. “What happened to it?”

“Is that… the curse?” Lucy asked hesitantly.

Natsu leaned back over the boat to puke again.

“We’re almost there.” Boat guy responded. Natsu wished he remembered his name. It was Dodo or something, right? “That’s Galuna Island.”

“That’s weird. Why’s the mountain top glowing like that?” Lucy asked. Natsu hadn’t noticed, busy puking his guts out and all, but good question.

“Hey, where’d he go?” Lucy exclaimed.

“Did he fall out?” Ice Bastard questioned.

Boat guy had left them? On a boat? Was he trying to kill Natsu?!

“It’s like he disappeared into thin air!” Happy commented.

Natsu groaned, leaning farther over the edge of the boat, trying into ignore the voices and weird rumbling sound.

“What’s that sound?” Lucy asked, looking over the edge of the boat beside him.

“Uh… Lucy?” Ice Bastard said nervously.

Then Lucy began to scream. Joy. What was going on now?

“Now don’t panic, just grab on to the boat and hold on!” Ice Bastard yelled

“Happy! Can’t you grab on to the boat and fly?” Lucy shrieked.

“I’m not strong enough!” Happy screamed back. Natsu gripped the edge of the boats as they went in circles. This was torture. He was sure of it. It was almost as bad as dying. Okay. That was an exaggeration. Dying had hurt a lot more.

Suddenly, the boat flipped over, and he was in the water. How was he supposed to puke now? Then water filled his lungs and he lost all consciousness.

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu woke up to find himself lying on a sandy beach. A beach. They were on land! Sweet, glorious land!

He jumped up. This must be the island!

“Hey you guys! It looks like we made it!” He exclaimed cheerfully.

“Lucky that wave washed us ashore.” Lucy commented.

“Well I don’t know if I would call it lucky.” Ice Bastard grumbled.

“I can’t help but wonder what happened to the guy that brought us here.” Lucy said, looking thoughtful, “Right after he told us about the curse he vanished.”

Like that mattered! They had just arrived at a super cool and freaky island!

“Forget about that stuff for now!” Natsu shouted, “Let’s go exploring!”

“Aye!” Happy agreed.

“We’ve been here for like thirty seconds and you guys have already forgotten about the mission?” Lucy complained. Did she not want to explore? She was such a weirdo. But, she did have a point.

He sighed and walked over towards where she was standing and holding the job flyer.

“Apparently there’s only one village on this whole island.” She commented, looking over the flyer, “The village chief is the one who originally put in the request. So I guess we need to try and find him.”

“Not so fast.” Ice Bastard interrupted.

“Give it up Gray.” Natsu complained, “You can’t take us back to the guild now that our boat has been destroyed!”

Honestly, had Ice Bastard lost brain cells to the cold? Natsu was pretty sure that that was a thing. It seemed pretty likely.

“You’re right.” Gray agreed. That was a first. “I’m coming with you.”

Seriously?!

“There’s no way I’m going to let the two of you clowns make S class before I do. And if you were kicked out the guild would be pretty boring.”

Man, that guy sucked and complimenting people.

“Gramps may be upset but if we pull this off he won’t stay mad at us for long.”

Now he was talking!

“Let’s go.” Gray finished with a grin. Natsu grinned back.

“Yeah!”

 

* * *

 

 

It took them nearly eight hours before they found the village. It would have taken much longer if it hadn’t been for Natsu’s nose.

“Well, we found the village.” Gray commented, eyeing the ‘KEEP OUT’ sign. “Now what?”

“Check out that gate.” Natsu said, looking up, “When they say ‘KEEP OUT’, they mean it.”

“Anyone home?” Lucy shouted, “We came here to help you!”

Well, that was one way of doing it. Natsu had been thinking more along the lines of burning down the gate (it was wood, after all) but this would probably seem friendlier.

No one answered. Back to his original plan then! He lit his fist.

“Let’s bust in!”

“No way!” Lucy shouted back at him.

Then two figures appeared at the top of the gate. Huh. Maybe they had heard Lucy. She was pretty loud.

“Who goes there?” One of the figures called. Wow. They sounded so formal.

“We’re wizards from Fairy Tail!” Lucy called back confidently, putting a hand on her hip, “We’re responding to your request!”

“Why weren’t we notified when you accepted the job?” The other figure yelled back. Wow. So much yelling. Why couldn’t they just open the gate already?

“Uh… Well…” Lucy’s confidence faded. Then Gray spoke up.

“Sorry! It was probably just a mix-up in the paperwork!”

Huh. He was a surprisingly good liar.

“Then let me see your emblems! Right now!” The first guy called.

Emb-a-lums? Like, their guild marks? Okay then. Natsu twisted so that his shoulder was visible, while Happy, who had been standing on his pack, turned around and pushed away his green bag so that his guild mark was also visible. Lucy held her right hand up in the air, then Gray lifted up his shirt. Weird. He had had it on for nearly a whole day now. Granted, he had been tied up for a lot of it, but still!

“They’re here! They’re really here!” The gate guys cried. Well duh. Did the gate guys think they were ghosts or something?

The gate was quickly lifted, allowing them through into the village.

“It’s like we’re walking into a giant monster’s mouth!” Happy exclaimed, watching the spokes of the gate.

It kinda was. Huh. Reminded him of home. His Tartaros home- the Cube- not Fairy Tail.

“Hush! Are you trying to freak me out?” Lucy complained.

A man who was completely covered in robes stepped forward towards them.

“I am the Village Chief. On behalf of everyone here, I welcome you. Pleasantries aside, there is something you need to see!”

Well, that didn’t sound good.

The Chief turned towards the rest of the villagers, who were all as clocked as he was.

“Now, my people!”

Everyone dropped their clocks, revealing that all of them- even the children- had one demonic limb or feature. That… was definitely weird. They all smelled demonic too.

“It’s just like what happened to the boat guy!” Gray commented. Well, Boat Guy did say he was from Galuna, right? That at least made sense. A whole village with one demonic feature each did not.

“Yeah…” Lucy agreed softly.

Then Natsu noticed the Chief’s hair. The top of his head was completely bald, but…

“Oh wow! Your sideburns!” He exclaimed. Seriously. They were long.

“Not that!” the Chief complained, “I was trying to show you what happened to my arm!”

The Chief lifted the giant purple limb up in emphasis.

“Everyone on the island has suffered horrible disfigurement because of this curse. Not even the animals have been spared!”

That was super weird.

“Excuse me for asking, but what makes you think it’s a curse, sir? It could be some kind of infectious disease.” Gray asked. That was a surprisingly good question for him.

“We’ve consulted with dozens of doctors, young man, but they all agreed that no such disease exists! You see, our symptoms began around the same time the moon fell under an evil spell.”

 _What?_ That didn’t make any sense.

“What kind of spell?” Lucy asked.

“Since ancient times, this island has absorbed the light of the moon, causing to glow almost as beautifully as the moon itself! However, several years ago, the moons’ color began to change, and an eerie purple glow was cast upon the island.”

Weird.

“So the moon turned purple?” He asked for clarification.

“It’s coming out from behind the clouds!” Happy whimpered, looking up. Natsu raised his head. So it was. And it _did_ look purple. Maybe the Chief wasn’t bonkers.

“Oh wow. It really is purple!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Man that’s creepy looking.” Gray commented.

“It’s the curse.” The Chief agreed ominously. “Stand back, the change is about to begin!”

Suddenly, everyone in the village began crying out in pain as the purple light fell upon them. Their bodies grew and twisted gruesomely.

“They’re changing!” Gray exclaimed.

“Yeah, I see that!” Lucy shouted, looking horrified.

Natsu stared. Yeah, they were changing alright. Changing into demons.

Slowly, the villagers regained their bearings and stood up.

“We’re sorry if our appearances frighten you.” The Chief apologized.

“It’s okay, I’m just completely confused.” Gray responded, looking rather lost for words.

“Yeah!” Natsu agreed, “You’re not scary looking anyways!”

Natsu grew up in Tartaros. He knew what scary looked like. Namely, a happy Kyoka. That was always terrifying.

“You poor people…” Lucy sighed. What was she talking about? Didn’t she like it? Yeah, the whole transformation thing was kind of weird and creepy, but still! They looked totally awesome! Their demon forms weren’t as badass as his, obviously, but still!

“You guys look super cool!” He informed them. Someone clearly needed to. Humans likely wouldn’t. They didn’t like anything… demonic. He ignored the painful memories that brought up.

“You think we look… cool?” One guy asked nervously.

“Yeah!” Natsu responded enthusiastically, “You’ve got horns and tails and wings and stuff!”

“No one’s ever called us ‘cool’ before…” A young girl said.

“Natsu!” Lucy yelled, “Don’t be insensitive! They don’t want to look like this!”

Well that was rude. Natsu bet that one of the main reasons they didn’t want to look like that was because people told them they shouldn’t and hated them for it. Just like with him.

No. No. Not going there.

The villagers all looked disappointed again. Natsu bit his lip. Seriously Lucy? She was the one being insensitive, not him! Didn’t she see how happy all the villagers were when he said that the looked cool?

“Well, we’re here to help you.” He sighed.

“Aye!” Happy agreed.

“Anyways.” The Chief said, “As you’ve witnessed, whenever the purple moon shows it’s face in the sky, everyone in the village takes on a horrific demon form! If it isn’t a curse, then what else could it possibly be?!”

The Chief was shouting near the end over the sound of the villager’s sobs. Natsu stared at them with sympathy. Technically, this could be a lot of things, but he was understanding why they thought it was a curse. The most likely thing though was a misuse of powerful magic by someone else on the island.

“We’ll return to normal once the morning comes and the sun has risen.” The Chief explained, “However, there are some whose souls could no longer switch back to their human forms for they have lost their minds.”

“How sad…” Lucy murmured.

“The fate for them… these unfortunate souls in the grip of madness… we’ve no choice but to put them to death.”

Natsu gasped. How could they do that to one of their one? He couldn’t even let another kill Lullaby! He had just hidden the flute in the floor of his hut, beside his locket!

“But they might change back to normal someday!” He protested.

“If we wait for that to happen, the monsters will surely kill us all!” the Chief exclaimed.

What was wrong with these people? To kill one of their own… Or to be killed be those you loved! Natsu was horrified. This rang to many bells within him. His brother’s wish to die at Natsu’s hands… What had happened with Lullaby… the hatred of his guildmates towards all things relating to Zeref, although Natsu himself was secretly Zeref’s brother and his most powerful demon…

He covered his mouth, forcing the bile back down.

At the look on Natsu’s face, the Chief started to explain.

“We’ve tried capturing them, but they always broke free.” The Chief began to cry, pulling out a photo “It’s no use. Once it takes hold, there’s no way to save them. I should know. I- I was forced to kill my very own son.”

As tears filled the Chief’s eyes, the photo fell in his hands, allowing Natsu to see it. Wait. The Chief’s son was Boat Guy?!

“Hey that’s the guy from the boat!” Lucy exclaimed, “But we just saw him yesterday he-”

“Shhhh!” Gray interrupted. What was his problem? Shouldn’t they tell this guy that his son wasn’t actually dead?

“Now I understand why he disappeared on us like that.” Gray said shakily, “He’s dead, but his soul can’t rest in peace.”

“A-a ghost?” Lucy gasped. Nah. There was no way that guy was a ghost. He would have had a lot bloodier and more dramatic death than that if he was going to be a ghost. If that was how ghosts worked, Natsu would have been one!

No, there was definitely something else going on here.

“Please lift the evil curse from our island!” The Chief begged, “If this goes on much longer we may all fall victim to it and die!”

“We’re not going to let that happen!” Natsu declared, “We can fix this. I promise you.”

“There’s only one way this wretched curse can be lifted.” The Chief said gravely, “The moon. The moon must be wiped from the sky!”

…What now?

That was crazy talk. Maybe they really were cursed. Zeref had a tendency to talk crazy because of his curse too. Of course, Zeref’s crazy talk was more along the lines of ‘I must annihilate all life and bring around the apocalypse’ not ‘the moon must be destroyed’ of course, but whatever.

The Chief sighed.

“You should rest for the night before trying to undertake this task. Come, we have rooms prepared for you.”

 

* * *

 

 

“I never knew the moon could be so creepy.” Happy commented as he gazed out the window.

“Hurry and close the window, you heard what the Chief said!” Lucy scolded, “We gotta stay out of the moonlight! You may not care, but I don’t want to risk turning into some freaky looking monster.”

Ouch. Natsu sighed from his chair.

“I’m not so sure about this job guys.” He said.

“Do these people really think we can destroy the moon?” Gray asked incredulously. That kind of sounded like a challenge. Natsu grinned and stood up.

“I wonder how many punches it’ll take. You think I can handle it?” He asked confidently.

Gray shot up.

“Are you kidding me?!” He asked. Natsu looked back at him, but Gray just sighed and sat back down.

“Don’t be stupid man.” Gray grumbled.

Oi! Who was he calling stupid?!

“Natsu, there’s not a wizard alive who’s strong enough to do that.” Lucy pointed out.

Eh… Zeref probably could. Or at least figure out how to. And if his older brother could do it, so could he! … Sometimes, anyway. That applied occasionally. But Natsu could probably figure out how to do this? Maybe? He didn’t really want to piss off a god like his brother did though. Or was it a goddess? He thought it was a goddess. Seluna, right? Yeah. Seluna was the moon goddess. Of course, the old gods and goddesses he remembered seemed obsolete in today’s society. And they couldn’t back out now! Besides, wasn’t destroying the moon the whole point of why they were there?

“But that’s the job we were hired to do, isn’t it?” He pointed out, “We can’t take a job then back out, cause that would make Fairy Tail look bad!”

“What they’re asking can’t be done!” Ice Bastard retorted, “How do you think you’re going to get to the moon anyway?”

Wasn’t it obvious?

“I’ll just fly up there with Happy!”

“I don’t think so.” Happy protested.

“Okay, we can’t destroy the moon. But if we do some investigating, we might be able to find a different way to lift the curse from the island.” Lucy pointed out. She stopped when Gray’s shirt hit her in the face. Natsu turned to watch the Ice Mage remove his socks, leaving him in nothing but his underwear.

“You kids can do what you want, but after the day I’ve had I need some shut-eye.” Gray commented.

“Well, that settles it!” Natsu exclaimed happily, “Our investigation starts tomorrow morning!”

With a grin, he kicked off his comfortable sandals and jumped on to the bed on the far right, Happy beside him.

“I am hitting the sack!” He declared.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Gray agreed, falling onto the bed to the far left.

“Okay then. I’m pretty sleepy too. Goodnight.” Lucy called as she crawled into the bed in the middle.

“G’night.” Gray mumbled.

“Night!” Natsu called.

 

* * *

 

 

“So early…” Natsu yawned, stretching.

“Yeah.” Gray agreed, “I’m never up at this time.”

“You two kept me up all night and I’m not complaining!” Lucy declared as they trudged behind her, “So stop whining and let’s go!”

“Aye…” The rest of them mumbled in unison.

Lucy pulled a silver key off of her ring.

“Open! Gate of the Clock constellation! Horologium!” She called.

A large grandfather clock with noodly black arms and legs and a friendly face appeared.

“The time is 7:48.” He declared.

Oh! Natsu remembered this guy! Wait…

He frowned as Lucy smiled at the spirit.

“Hi Horologium!” She greeted, “I need a ride, do you mind?”

“Not at all!” Horologium responded, his door swinging open.

“Hey! What?” Gray complained. Lucy shrugged as she stepped in.

“Like I said, you two kept me up all night, but I’m not complaining.” She said, then shut the door.

“Wow Lucy, you’re really lazy.” Happy commented. “’Shut it, cat!’ the lady shouts angrily.” Horologium said. Natsu shrugged and began walking down the dirt path.

“Do you really think we’ll be able find another way to break the curse?” He asked Gray. Gray shrugged.

“Well, we don’t have much of a choice.” The Ice-make mage responded, “The village may think the moon’s cursed, but everyone else likes it, and destroying it might really mess things up.”

Natsu hadn’t even thought of that! According to Levy, the moon affected a whole bunch of stuff!

“You’re right!” He gasped, “If we didn’t have the moon, the tides would get all crazy and at night the sky would be pitch black!”

“Without it salmon could go extinct and they’re my favorite fish!” Happy pipped up.

“‘Would you guys keep it down? We don’t know what’s lurking out here so we shouldn’t draw any attention!’ the lady demands impatiently.” Horologium suddenly said.

Natsu looked behind him.

“You should walk on your own.” He complained.

“He’s right.” Gray agreed, “You just summon your spirits because you’re lazy?”

“‘Listen, this curse is freaking me out. We have no idea what we’re up against and I’m scared!’ She says nervously.” Horolgium said.

Wait, she was scared? Earlier she just made it sound like she was tired! Of course, it was Happy teasing her earlier so that might have explained her excuse from before… But it wasn’t like there was anything to be scared of anyways! It was daytime, they were on an adventure, and they were about to complete an S class quest!

“Are you kidding, this is awesome!” He shouted with excitement, “S class quests rule!”

“Yeah, I bet I can probably freeze that stupid curse.” Gray commented nonchalantly.

“‘You guys are idiots.’ She retorts disparagingly.” Horologium said.

“Aye.” Happy agreed with a sigh. Natsu just laughed.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake with loud booms.

“Hm?” Gray questions.

“What’s that?” Natsu asked as they turned around.

Natsu gasped as they looked up. What the hell was that monster? Natsu had never seen anything like it!

“What the?” he screamed.

“It’s huge!” Gray shouted.

“‘What are you waiting for? Beat it up you guys!’ she yells frightenedly.” Horologium declared.

Good idea.

Gray held his hands out in front of him.

“Ice-make shield!” He declared, activating his magic. A large ice barrier appeared between them and the monster. The monster laughed and blew a mouthful of it’s horrid breath at them. Oh. Oh gods. It was terrible. Natsu collapsed in a fit, covering his nose and mouth. His poor sensitive nose.

“Come on, get up man!” Gray yelled, kicking him in the side. Natsu shakily stood up, still covering his nose.

“Let’s go!” He screamed, running. The monster- which, now that he could see it better was actually a giant blue rat in a black and pink dress- barreled after them, continually blowing it’s terrible breath at them.

“Ice-make floor!” Gray suddenly yelled, slamming his fists into the ground and making the area behind them ice. The rat slipped and fell on to it’s back. Natsu grinned and turned towards Gray.

“You should have done that in the first place!” He declared cheerfully.

“Shut up, Natsu!” Gray yelled back defensively.

“Look, there’s some kind of building over there!” Lucy pointed out to their right, “We should go hide while we have the chance!”

Hide? While their enemy was on the ground? Like hell! He and Gray both ran towards the rat and began punching it.

“We should kick it’s butt while we have the chance!” He yelled.

“I-I think that’s good you guys. The rat’s unconscious.” Lucy said. Huh. So it was. He was awesome! “I think we should go into that building now.”

The group walked towards it.

“It looks like some sort of temple.” Gray commented. It… sorta did, actually Not like the ones at home in Milan, but it did look like a temple. Could he even go in temples anymore? He was a demon now.

“I- I don’t know about this you guys.” He protested. Lucy rolled her eyes as she stepped in.

“Don’t be a baby Natsu. It’s a temple. It might be in ruins, but as long as we’re careful we won’t get hurt.”

“Yeah, hurry it up man.” Gray agreed, following Lucy. Natsu bit his lip. Did he want to risk it?

Suddenly, he was lifted intro the air by the back of his vest. Happy.

“Put me down!” He yelled, struggling. “Happy put me down!”

“Aye!” The blue cat agreed cheerfully and dropped him- inside the temple. He was alive.

He hadn’t been turned into ash. There wasn’t a barrier that he couldn’t get through.

“I’m alive!” He exclaimed happily. Sure, he was definitely getting a huge ‘you’re not welcome here’ vibe, but he was alive!

“Duh. Are you done being dramatic now?” Ice Bastard asked.

“This place is massive!” Lucy commented.

“Yeah, but it’s fallen apart.” Natsu agreed, glancing around the stone structure.

“I wonder how old it is.” Gray said.

Natsu looked up at some paintings on one of the walls.

“What are those?” He asked.

“They’re moons.” Gray responded, as he, Happy, and Lucy walked over. “Makes since, it used to be called the Island of the Moon.”

It did? He hadn’t known that.

“Moon island?” Lucy wondered aloud, “The moon curse? And weird moon symbols? You really gotta wonder what all of it means.”

Natsu glanced around, walking over to an uneven patch of floor, pounding the stone bricks with his heel in an attempt to get them back in place, as well as an excuse to kick the temple.

“Yeah this place is a wreak. This floor hardly looks safe to walk on.” He complained. Then Lucy noticed what he was doing.

“Well don’t go stomping on it!” She scolded. Suddenly, his foot broke through the cracks of the floor, and it crumbled beneath them.

“Natsu, you idiot, look what you’ve done!” Gray screamed.

Natsu hit the ground with a hard thud, a few hundred pounds of stone falling on and around him. He forced his head through the pile.

“Hey, is everyone okay?” He called out worriedly as he dragged himself out.

“I’d be better if you hadn’t knocked out the floor!” Lucy growled in annoyance.

“Here’s a thought: if you think before you act, maybe you wouldn’t cause so much destruction!” Gray complained from where he was lying on the broken pieces of stone. Natsu ignored him and looked up, like Lucy was doing.

“So, can you fly us out of here Happy?” She asked, though her tone made it clear that she didn’t think so. They were really far down.

“No, sorry.” Happy replied sadly.

“We’re underneath the temple.” Gray commented in realization.

They were? That was so cool! He knew they were far down, but that was really far!

“Wow! It’s a secret cave!” He exclaimed, buzzing around. That explained why he didn’t really feel that vibe anymore too! “This is so cool, hey look a path!”

He ran down the small path at the edge of the cave. This was a real adventure! He sped up through the pathway as the tunnel got bigger and bigger. Then he turned right, and he was no longer in a tunnel but a large cavern. There was a purple glow coming from the other end of the cave. He ran towards it. Maybe this was what made the moon look purple here!

Then he skid to a stop. In front of him was a large ice block. And in it, was one of his brother’s demons. What was it doing here?

“Hey guys, you should come see this!” He called out. This should be moved. Immediately. The demon couldn’t hurt anyone like this, nor could anyone kill it, but keeping it in a temple meant that either a.) it would die or b.) it would wake up and be really angry. Natsu would like to avoid both of those.

“Natsu? What is-” Lucy cut herself off as she and Gray both gasped.

“That’s impossible!” Gray cried out in disbelief. What, that they had ran into two of his brothers’ demons within the course of a week? He totally agreed.

“It’s Deliora!” Gray finished in horror.

Wait. How did he know that?

“But how?” Gray questioned as he walked towards it. He sounded as though he was on the verge of tears. “How can this happen? Why is it here? What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island?!”

Shit. What was wrong with Gray? Natsu and Lucy ran to Gray’s side.

“You’ve seen this thing before?” Natsu asked worriedly. Gray began to tremble, staring at his hands.

“There’s- there’s no way.” The Ice-make mage whimpered.

Lucy gently placed a hand on Gray’s shoulder.

“Gray, please try to calm down.” She said, attempting to soothe him. Gray started taking deep breaths, then lifted his head, still trembling.

“Now, can you tell us about it?” Lucy asked softly.

“That’s Deliora.” Gray hissed with more hatred then Natsu had ever heard from the other teen, “The demon of destruction.”

Natsu wasn’t so sure about that, but from Gray’s reaction, this was something very personal, and he wasn’t going to argue the point or belittle Gray’s feelings. Wait.

_“Natsu, many of your guildmates, particularly Gray and Erza, have been badly hurt as a result of Zeref worshippers and by Demons of the Books of Zeref.”_

Gramps’ words from all those years ago came back to him. Was… was Deliora the demon who had hurt Gray?

“But why is it here?” Gray asked hopelessly. “It doesn’t make any sense!”

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps and voices became clear.

“Quick! Hide!” Lucy hissed. They all dove behind a pile of rocks.

“The voices seemed to be coming from down here.” A male voice said.

“Ah-whoo!” Agreed another.

Two young men walked into the cavern.

“I hate being awake during the day.” Said the first voice. It came from a short man, with green clothing, blue hair, and a rather impressive set of eyebrows.

“So Toby,” Guy number one continued, “Were you exposed to the moon drip? You’ve got those pointy ears.”

“I already told you, they’re a fashion statement you jerk!” Toby yelled back. The only thing he had on was a pair of pants and what looked like cat ears.

“Oh hush I was just teasing you.” Guy number one responded.

“You don’t have to be so mean about it.” Toby huffed.

“Huh… the moon drip… could that be the name of the curse?” Lucy whispered, as she too watched the pair. Curious, Natsu focused on their scents. They didn’t smell anything like the villagers.

Suddenly a young girl with goth clothing a bright pink hair pulled up in pigtails walked in.

“Yuka, Toby, something terrible has happened!” She said, distraught.

“What?” responded Guy number one, who must be Yuka, in a bored tone, “Oh, hello Sherry.”

“Aroo.” Toby waved at the girl.

“It’s Angelica.” Sherry said, holding a hand to her chest, “She’s been attacked and I’m upset.”

“You’re moping around because someone beat up your stupid pet rat?!” Toby yelled in annoyance. Wait. That monstrous rat belonged to this girl?! They certainly had the same fashion sense!

“She’s not a rat!” Sherry responded defensively, “She’s a brave hunter prowling the jungle to protect us. She is… Love.”

And Sherry, apparently, was crazy.

“Okay, I don’t know who these people are but talk about a bunch of weirdos!” Lucy whispered. “Especially the chick with the pet rat.”

“Judging by their scents, they’re not from the island.” He whispered back.

“And they don’t look like they have the demon curse.” Happy mentioned.

“Intruders, you say?” Yuka said.

“And it’s almost time to begin collecting moonlight again.” Sherry said with a sigh, “All this makes me so sad. This news would displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes… we must find them before the moon’s first light.”

Sorry, the news would displease _who?_ The Cold Emperor? Who the hell actually called themselves that?

“I’m going to lead them away.” Happy whispered, picking up a small stone, before flying down the tunnel they had come through.

“Agreed.” Yuka stated with a creepy looking grin.

“Ar-arrrr.” Toby huffed. He kinda looked like a dog now that Natsu could see his face.

“Since they’ve seen Deliora, we can’t allow them to live.” Sherry stated dreamily, “We’ll give them the gift of eternal rest. We’ll give them… Love.”

Okay, she wasn’t just crazy she must be insane or something. Also, what the fuck? These guys were murdering people who happened to see Deliora? Seriously?

“You’re talking about death, right?” Toby asked.

There was the sound of a stone dropping. It must have been Happy. Toby, Yuka, and Sherry all turned towards the tunnel.

“What was that?” Sherry asked.

“Over there!” Yuka cried, and the trio went running off.

“Nice job Cat!” Lucy whispered to Happy as he came flying back and they all stood up.

“Aye!” Happy agreed quietly.

“Alright. Time to do some investigating.” Lucy whispered excitedly.

“Man.” Natsu complained in boredom, “This job just keeps getting more and more complicated.”

“Right?!” Happy agreed, “Like who is this Cold Emperor guy?”

“Deliora…” Gray murmured, “I still don’t understand what anyone would want with it. And how the hell were they even able to find it?”

What did he mean by that?

“Was it hidden somewhere?” Lucy asked

“It was sealed away.” Gray growled, “Inside a glacier on the Northern Continent. A decade ago, this immortal demon ravaged the land of Isvan. Countless people lost their lives. The woman who taught me how to use my magic, my master, Ur, sacrificed _everything_ to seal it away.” Gray’s fists were shaking, “I don’t know if it has anything to do with the curse on this island, but I do know that it doesn’t belong here! This Cold Emperor- we have to find out who it is! If they tarnish my master’s legacy, they’re going to regret the day they were born!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review! I love reading them!


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